Full text of "The pictorial field-book of the War of 1812 : or, Illustrations, by pen and pencil, of the history, biography, scenery, relics, and traditions of the last war for American independence"

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Cornell University Library 
E354 .L88 1869 

The pictorial field-bool( of the War of 1 




3 1924 032 759 619 
olin Overs 



THE 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



OF THE 



WAR OF1812; 

OR, 

ILLUSTRATIONS, BY PEN AND PENCIL, OP THE HISTORY, BIOG- 
RAPHY, SCENERY, RELICS, AND TRADITIONS OP THE 
LAST WAR POR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. 



BY BENSON J. LOSSING. 



WITH SBVEKAl HUITOEED ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, BY LOSSING AND BAEEITT, 
CHIEFLY PEOM OEIGINAL SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOE. 



NEW YOEK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

PEANKLIN SQUAEB. 
186 9. 

Lo 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

Habpbk & Brothbes, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New York. 





\HE author of this voltune said to the readers of his Piotoeial 
Field-book of the Revolution, at the close of that work, 
" Should time deal gently with us, we may again go out with 
staff and scrip together upon the great highway of our coun- 
try's progress, to note the march of events there." The im- 
plied promise has been fulfilled. \_Xhe author has traveled 
more than ten thousand miles in this country and m the Canadas, with note-book 
and pencil ia hand, visiting places of historic interest connected with the "War of 
1812, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, gathering up, recording, and 
delineating every thing of special value, not found in books, illustrative of the sub- 
ject, and making himself familiar with the topography and incidents of the battle- 
fields of that war. Access to the archives of governments, state and national, and 
to private collections, was freely given him ; and from the lips of actors in the 
events of that struggle he received the most interesting information concerning it, 
which might have perished with themj 

The results of the author's researches and labors are given in this volume. 
The narrative of historic events is resmned where his work on the Eevolution 
left it. An account is given of the perils of the country immediately succeeding 
the Revolution ; the struggles of the new nation with the alhed powers of British 
and Indians in the Northwest ; the origin and growth of political parties in the 
United States, and their relations to the War of 1812 ; the influence of the French 
Revolution and French politics in giving complexion to parties in this country; 
the first war with the Barbary Powers ; the effects of the wars of Napoleon on the 
public policy of the TJnited States ; the Embargo and kindred acts, and the kin- 
dling of the war in 1812. 

The events of the war are given in greater detail than in any work hitherto 
published, and the narrative brings to view actors in the scenes whose deeds have 
been overlooked by the historian. The work is a continuation of the history of 
our country from the close of the Revolution in 1Y83 to the end of the Second 
War with Great Britain in 1815. 



POUGHKEEPSIE, New Yobk, Jult, 1868. 




CHAPTER I. 

EARLY DATS OP THE REPUBLIC. 

The Close of the Revolution ; the States free, but not independent, 18 ; Why? Articlesof Confederation, 19; 
the Public Debt, 20 5 Attitude of the States, 21 ; British Opinion concerning them, 22 ; Public Dangers, 
23 ; Dissolution of the Republic threatened, 24 ; Washington's Torebodings ; his Proposition for a Con- 
vention to reorganize Government, 25 ; Meeting of the Convention, 26 ; Proceedings of the Convention 
to form a National Constitution, 27-32 ; Ratification of the Constitution ; its Opponents, 38 ; the Estab- 
lishment of a Nation, 34. 

CHAPTER n. 

EVENTS IN THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 

Foundations of Government in the Wilderness, 35 ; the Northwestern Temtory ; Settlements there, 36-37 ; 
the Indians and their British Allies, 38 ; Councils with the Indians, 39 ; British Intrigues and Indian 
Hostilities, 40; Expedition against the Indians in the Ohio Country, 41; Battle on the Maumee, 42; 
Visit to the Place of Conflict, 43-44 ; Expeditions of Scott and Wilkinson, 45 ; Ports built in the Wil- 
derness, 46 ; St. Clair's Expedition, 47 ; his Battle with the Indians and Defeat, 48 ; how Washington re- 
ceived the News of St. Clair's Defeat, 49 ; his Justice and Generosity ; Wayne's Expedition, 50 ; Inter- 
ference of British Officials, 51 ; the British and Indians in armed Alliance, 52 ; Wayne's Expedition 
down the Maumee, 53, 54 ; Defeat of the Indians and treaty of Greenville, 55, 56. 

CHAPTER III. 

ESTABLISHMENT OP THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. 

The national Policy and Power indicated, 58 ; Relations with France and England, 59 ; revolutionary 
Movements in France, 60, 61 ; diplomatic Intercourse with Great Britain and Spain, 62 ; Discourtesy of 
the British Government ; mistaken Views concerning the American Government, 63 ; Acts in relation to 
the Public Debt, 64 ; Hamilton's financial Scheme ; Currency, 65 ; Jefferson's Disappointment and Sus- 
picions, 66 ; Progress of the French Revolution, 67 ; the political and religious Views of Jefferson and 
Adams, 68 ; Democracy in England, 69 ; Adams's Scheme of Government ; Jefferson's Disgust and un- 
generous Suspicions, 70 ; 'P2Ane's Rights of Man ; a Newspaper War, 71 ; ih% Federal aai Republican 
Parties formed, 72 ; Sympathy with the French Revolutionists, 73 ; Lafayette, 74 ; Monarchy in France 
overthrown, 75 ; the National Convention ; Execution of the King, 76 ; Minister .from the French Re- 
public, 77 ; Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality, 78. 

CHAPTER IV. 

FOREIGN RELATIONS AND DOMESTIC POLITICS. 

" Citizen Genet" and his Reception by his political Admirers, 79 ; his first Interview with Washington ; 
Enthusiasm of the Republicans, 80 ; the American and the French Revolution compared, 81 ; Genet de- 
fies the American Government, 82 ; he is recalled ; his Successor, 83 ; British " Rules" and " Orders in 
Council;" Armed Neutrality, 84; British Impressment of American Seamen, 85; Jay's Treaty with 
Great Britain, 86 ; Opposition to the Treaty, 87 ; the Whisky Insurrection ; Democratic Societies, 88 ; 
Difficulties with Algiers, 89 ; an American Navy recommended, 90 ; Construction of a Navy ; Unfriend- 
liness of the French Directory, 91 ; Struggle between the Republicans and Federalists for^political Power ; 
Adams elected President, 92 ; open Rupture between France and the United States threatened, 93 ; Mad- 
ness of Partisans, 94 ; Aggressions of the French Directory, 95 ; Preparations for War with France ; 
Action in New York, 96 ; History of the Songs " Hail, Columbia !" and " Adams and Liberty," 97. 

CHAPTER V. 

WAR ON THE OCEAN. — POLITICAL STRBGOLES. 

Washington appointed to the Command of the Army ; Hamilton acting General-in-chief, 98 ; Envoys ex- 
traordinary sent to France, 99 ; Bonaparte in Power ; American War-vessels afloat, 100 ; British Out- 
rages ; Obsequiousness of the American Government, 102 ; naval Engagements, 103 ; American Cruisers 
in the West Indies, 104 ; Truxtun's Victory ; Honors to the Victor, 105 ; Peace ; Divisions in the Fed- 
eral Party, 106 ; Intrigues against Adams ; Alien and Sedition Laws ; Nullification Doctrines put forth, 
107 ; State Supremacy asserted ; Jefferson elected President, 108 ; Mortification of the Federalists ; 
Death of Washington, 109 ; a public Fimeral, 110 ; Washington's Person and Character, 11 1. 



IV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE BAEBARY POWERS. — ENGLAND AND FRANCE AT WAK. 

Bonaparte's Career and Influence, 112 ; Obsequiousness of Englishmen, 113 ; Beginning of Jefferson's Ad- 
ministration ; the National Capital, 114 ; Jefferson's Policy ; political Proscription, 115 ; the Navy re- 
duced, 116 ; Captain Bainbridge, the Dey of Algiers, and the Sultan, 117 ; Insolence and Exactions of 
the Barbary Kulers, 118 ; American Navy in the Mediterranean Sea and its Operations, 119-120 ; Bom- 
bardment of Tripoli, 121 ; Destruction of the P/ii&rfe/jp/iia, 122; Destruction of the /nirepirf; Honors to 
Commodore Preble, 123 ; Commodore Barron's Squadron, in the Mediterranean, 124 ; Eaton's Expedi- 
tion in Northern Africa ; Kespect of the Barbaiy Powers for the American Flag, 125 ; Bonaparte and his 
Relations with England, 126 ; a French Invasion of England threatened, 127 ; a Struggle for political 
Supremacy ; Bonaparte proclaimed Emperor, 128 ; Napoleon's Berlin Decree, 129. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

EVENTS WEST OF THE ALLEGHANIES. — SEARCH AND IMPRESSMENT. 

Organization of new States, 130; Americans disturbed by the Retrocession of Louisiana to France, 131 ; 
the secret Designs of the latter, 132 ; Jefferson's Letter and Bonaparte's Necessity ; Pmxhase of Louisi- 
ana, 133 ; Events connected with the Purchase of Louisiana, 134 ; the Duel of Hamilton and Burr ; the 
Acts of Burr's political Associates, 135 ; his ambitious Schemes ; Blennerhassett and Wilkinson, 136 ; 
Buit's Operations, Trial for Treason, and Exile, 137 ; American commercial Thrift and British Jealousy, 
138 ; British Perfidy defended by British Writers, 139 ; Unpleasant foreign Relations, 140 ; Memorial 
of Merchants concerning British Depredations, 141 ; Impressment of American Seamen and Right of 
Seai-ch, 142 ; diplomatic Correspondence on the Subject, 143 ; cruel Treatment of American Seamen, 
144 ; farther diplomatic Action, 145, 146 ; national Independence and Honor in Peril, 147 ; Minister ex- 
traordinary sent to England, 148. 

CHAPTER VHL 

SEARCH AND IMPRESSMENT. — EMBARGO. — PARTY SPIRIT. 

Negotiations concerning the Impressment of American Seamen, 149 ; a Treaty agreed to, but not ratified; 
Wai'on the Administration, 150, 151 ; The Continental System of Napoleon, 152; Aggressions on Amer- 
ican Commerce and Neutrsility by France and England, 153 ; Napoleon's Milan Decree and its Effects, 
154 ; the Navy and the Gun-boat Policy, 155 ; British Cruisers in American Waters, 156 ; the Affair of 
the Chesapeake, 157; the Outrage resented, 158 ; Action of the American Government, 159 ; Action of 
the British Government, 160 ; fruitless Mission of » British Envoy, 161 ; political Complexion of the 
Tenth Congress; an Embargo established, 162; its Effects; Party Spirit violently ai-oused, 163; the 
Embargo vehemently denounced, 164 ; the British exact Tribute from neutral Nations, 165 ; Dangers of 
national Vanity, 166. 

CHAPTER IX. 

WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN THREATENED. 

Provisions for Strengthening the American Navy, 1 67 ; Gun-boats; Opposition to a Navy, 1 68 ; British op- 
position to the Orders in Council, 169 ; Napoleon's Blow at American Commerce ; Modification of the 
Orders in Council, 170 ; Actions concerning the Embargo, 171 ; Disunionists in New England, 172, 173 ; 
Embargo or War the proclaimed Alternative, 174 ; Cotton supposed to be the King of Commerce, 1 75 ; 
Just Arrangements for settling the Difficulties with Great Britain, 176 ; the British Government repudi- 
ates the Acts of its Agent, 177 ; an offensive British Minister sent to America, 278 ; the French Decrees 
and British Orders in Council, 179 ; England and France refuse to be just, 180 ; Outrage by a British 
Cruiser, 181 ; Method of signaling, 182, 183 ; Action between the President and Little Belt, 184 ; Tes- 
timony concerning the Affair, 185 ; Commodore Rodgers assailed and vindicated, 186. 

CHAPTER X. 

HOSTILITIES OP THE INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST. 

The Indiana Territory and Governor Harrison, 187 ; British Emissaries among the Indians, 188 ; Tecum- 
tha and his Brother the Prophet, 189 ; Indian Confederation proposed ; Harrison denounces the' Prophet 
190 ; the Mission of Joseph Barron, 191 ; Tecumtha before Harrison at Vincennes, 192 ; roving Plun- 
derers ; Tecumtha alarmed, 193 ; Preparations for fighting the Indians, 194 ; Harrison marches up the 
Wabash with Troops ; Deputation of friendly Indians, 195 ; Visit of the Author to the Region of threat- 
ened Hostilities, 196-200 ; Harrison approaches the Prophet's Town ; the Indians alarmed 201 • Hai-- 
rison's Encampment near the Tippecanoe, 202 ; the Prophet's Teaching, 203 ; Battle of Tippecanoe 204 
205 ; The Prophet disgraced, 206 ; Actors in the Battle .of Tippecanoe, 207 ; Author's Visit to the Bat- 
tle-ground, 208, 209. 

CHAPTER XI. 

A WAR SPIRIT AROUSED. — DECLARATION OP WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN. 

The Twelfth Congress and its Composition, 210 ; the President's feeble War-trumpet, 211 • Chai-ffes against 
Great Britain, 212; Action of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 213; Alarm on Account of the 
Slaves, 214; Randolph and Calhoun in Congress, 215; Policy of the FederaUsts, 216- Patriotism of 
some of their Leaders, 217 ; Debate concerning the Navy, 218 ; the President compelled to adopt War 
Measures, 219 ; a British Emissary in New England, 220 ; his Revelations and Rewards, 221 • Action of 
the British Mimstry on the Subject, 222 ; a new Embargo Act, 223 ; delusive Hopes of Justice 224 a 
prelnmna^ War Measure 225 ; Report on the Causes of and Reasons for War, 226 ; Action of Confess 
""^ *^,™^"1''*' ^"i- ^^'f'T'' °^ '^^'■' 22« ' ^'°^'' °^ *« ^^"™<7 i° Congress against the K- 
oppSn?oTe wTal' '^' ^^"^ ^''""■'' ^°' "'"^'"^ """ *' ^'"' ''"^ P"^''" ^"^^'^ 



CONTENTS. V 

CHAPTER Xn. 

BEGINNING OF THE WAR OP 1812. 

The British Regency — Political Affairs in Europe, 233 ; the Troops and Fortifications on the Northern 
Frontier, 234 ; Sea^coast Defenses of the United States, 235-238 ; Fulton's Torpedoes and their Uses, 
238-240 ; Fulton's Anticipations, 241 ; Effects of a Fear of Torpedoes, 242 ; the Action of State Gov- 
ernments concerning the War, 243 ; puhlic Feeling in Canada, 244 ; Signs of Pacification, 245 ; condi- 
tional Revocation of the Orders in ConncU, 246 ; haughty Assumptions of the British Government on 
the Subject of Search and Imprisonment, 247; War inevitable and justifiable, 248 ; Choice of military 
Leaders, 249, 250. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

hull's campaign against CANADA.' 

Canada to be invaded — Object of the Invasion, 251 ; Organization of an Army in Ohio — an active Frontiers- 
man, 258 ; Author's Journey through Ohio, 254 ; General Hull takes Command of Ohio Volunteers, 255 ; 
regular and volunteer Troops in the Wilderness, 256 ; Hull's March to Detroit, 257; his Baggage and 
Papers captured, 258 ; how the British in Canada were informed of the Declaration of War, 259 ; Detroit 
in 1812, 260; Hull invades Canada, 261, 262 ; Reconnoissance toward Maiden, 263; first Battle of the 
War, 264, 265 ; Distrust of General Hull, 266 ; first Blood shed in the War, 267; early Scenes at Mack- 
inaw, 268, 269 ; Events at Mackinaw in 1812, 270 ; Employment of the Indians by the British, 271. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CAMPAIGN ON THE DETROIT TRONTIER. 

.ilarming Facts and Rumors, 272 ; Preparations in Canada for resisting Invasion, 273 ; Alarm caused by the 
Invasion, 274 ; Symptoms of Disloyalty — General Brock's Influence, 275 ; Defeat of Americans under Van 
Home at Brownstown, 276 ; mutinous Spirit evinced in Hull's Army, 277; Expedition to succor a Supply- 
train, 278 ; the March toward the River Raisin, 279 ; Battle of Maguaga, 280, 281 ; Disappointment and 
Disaffection of the American Troops, 282 ; Brock goes to Maiden with Troops, 283 ; Preparations for at- 
tacking Detroit, 284 ; Hull deceived — -an Effort to reach a Supply-train, 285 ; Hull summoned to sur- 
render, and refuses, 286 ; the British proceed to attack Detroit, 287; Scenes within the Fort, 288 ; Hull 
surrenders the Fort, Garrison, and Territory, 289 ; Feeling of the Troops — Result of the Surrender, 290 ; 
Incidents of the Surrender, 291 ; British Occupation of Detroit and Michigan, 292 ; Account of the Sur- 
render, and public Indignation, 293 ; Hull tried by a Court-martial, 294 ; a Consideration of Hull's public 
Character, 295 ; the Government more to blame than Hull, 296. 

CHAPTER XV. 

MILITARY EVENTS IN THE THEN FAR NORTHWEST. 

The Author's Journey from Chicago to Detroit, 297; a Ride from Windsor to Amherstburg, 298 ; Histori- 
cal Localities at Amherstburg or Maiden, 299; Windsor and "Windsor Castle,"^00; Pontiac',s Siege 
of Detroit, 301; Chicago, its Name, Settlement, and Position, 302 ; Trading-house and Fort at Chicago, 
303; an Indian Raid, 304 ; Troubles at Chicago, 305 ; Treachery of the Indians — a Warning, 306; Mu- 
nitions of War and Liquor destroyed, 307 ; Massacre at Chicago, 308 ; Incident of the Conflict with the 
Savages — Bravery of Women, 309 ; Cruelties of the Indians — their British Allies, 310 ; Survivors of the 
Massacre, 311 ; Mrs. Kenzie and the Growth of Chicago, 312 ; . Designs against Fort Wayne, 313 ; Attack 
on Fort Wayne, 314 ; Ravages of the Indians — Little Turtle, 315 ; Treachery of Indians at Fort Wayne, 
316 ; Fort Harrison besieged, 317 ; brave Deeds at Fort Harrison, 318 ; Attack on Fort Madison, 319. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

WAR WITH THE BRITISH AND INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST. 

The Nation aroused — Enthusiasm of the People, 320 ; Harrison and the Kentuckians, 321 ; Harrison at the 
Head of Kentucky Volunteers, 322 ; Departure for the Wilderness, 328 ; Volunteers flock to Harrison's 
Standard, 324 ; Fort Wayne relieved — Destruction of Indian Villages, 325 ; Harrison's Popularity— he 
commands the Northwestern Army, 326 ; Winchester met by British and Indians in the Wilderness, 327 ; 
Re-enforcements gathering, 328 ; Harrison's proposed autumn Campaign, 329 ; reported Movement 
through the Wilderness, 330 ; Erection of Forts, 331 ; the Indians alarmed and humbled, 332 ; the Au- 
thor's Visit to the Theatre of War, 333 ; Preparations for further Warfare, 334 ; Expedition against the 
Indians in the Illinois Country, 335 ; Expedition to the Wabash Region, 336 ; Sufferings of the Kentucky 
Soldiers, 337. 

CHAPTER XVn. 

WAR WITH THE BRITISH AND INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST. 

Harrison cheerfully meets Difliculties, 338 ; Difficulties of a winter Campaign, 339 ; Organization of the 
Army — the Western Reserve, 340 ; Preparations in Ohio against Invasion, 341 ; Energy and Patriotism 
of Colonel Wadsworth, 342 ; an Expedition to the Maumee, 343 ; stirring Events at the Maumee Rapids, 
344 ; Services of iriendly Indians, 345 ; Campbell's Expedition into the Wabash Region, 346 ; a Battle 
near the Mississiniwa, 347 ; Sufferings and Difficulties of Harrison's Army, 348, 349 ; Advance toward 
the Maumee Rapids, 350 ; Frenchtown on the Raisin River threatened, 351 ; Battle at Frenchtown, 352 ; 
Winchester arrives with Re-enforcements, 353 ; he disregards Warnings of Danger, 354 ; Massacre at 
Frenchtown, 355 ; Winchester compelled to surrender his Army, 356 ; Perfidy, Cowardice, and Inhu- 
manity of the British Commander, 357 ; Massacre and Scalping allowed by him, 358 ; Incidents of the 
Massacre, 359 ; Author's Visit to Frenchtown, 360 ; historical Localities and Survivors of the War there, 
361, 862 ; Harrison unjustly censi*ed, 363 ; his Army at the Maumee Rapids, 364. 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVni. 

EVENTS ON THE NORTHERN JLND NIAGARA FRONTIERS IN 1812. 

First warlike Measures on the Northern Frontier, 365 ; the Militia of the State of New York, 366 ; Events 
on Lake Ontario and at Sackett's Harbor, 367 ; a hostile British Squadron oif Sackett's Harbor, 368 ; a 
Skirmish and a Repulse of the British— Vessels of War on Lake Ontario, 369 ; Operations on the St. 
Lawrence Frontier, 370 ; hostile Squadrons on Lake Ontario, 370 ; Operations near Kingston— Commo- 
dore Chauncey, 372 ; General Brown sent to Ogdensburg, 373 ; the British attack Ogdensburg, 374 ; St. 
Regis, its capture by the Americans, 375 ; Honors to the Victors at Albany, 376 ; Eleazer Williams, or 
" The Lost Prince," 377 ; the Author's Visit to St. Regis, 378 ; Buifalo in 1812, 379 ; the Niagara Fron- 
tier, 380 ; American Troops on the Niagara Frontier, 381 ; an Armistice and its Effects, 383 ; Prepara- 
tions for an InvasiiDn of Canada, 384 ; Expeditions for capturing British Vessels, 385 ; Capture of the 
Adams and Caledonia near Fort Erie, 386 ; Incidents of the Exploit, 387 ; Feelings of the Americans and 
British, 388. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

EVENTS ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER IN 1812. 

Conduct of General Smyth, 389 ; Van Rensselaer prepares to attack Queenston, 390 ; British Force on the 
Niagara Frontier, 391 ; Expedition against Queenston delayed, 392 ; military Etiquette — Colonel Scott, 
393 ; Passage of the Niagara River in the Dark, 394 ; Skirmish at Queenston Village, 395 ; Colonel Van 
Rensselaer wounded and Captain Wool in command, 396 ; the Americans scale Queenston Heights, 397 ; 
Battle on Queenston Heights and Death of General Brock, 398 ; Passage of the River by Re-enforce- 
ments, 399 ; Events on Queenston Heights, 400 ; another Battle — Wool wounded, 401 ; bad Conduct of 
the New York Militia, Colonel Scott in Command, 402 ; Heroes and Cowards made Prisoners of War, 403; 
Surrender of the American Army, 404 ; a triumphal and funeral Procession, 405 ; Honors to General 
Brock, 406 ; Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, 407 ; Events at the Mouth of the Niagara River, 408 ; 
Protection for American Prisoners of War, 409 ; General Smyth's injurious Pride and Folly, 410 ; his 
silly Proclamations ridiculed, 411. 

CHAPTER XX. 

EVENTS ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER AND VICINITY IN 1812. 

The Author's Visit to the Niagara Frontier, 412 ; Lewiston, Queenston, and Queenston Heights, 41 3 ; Brock's 
Monument, 414; an Evening on Queenston Heights, 415; Interview with the Chief of the Six Nations, 
416 ; Journey from Queenston to Niagara, 417 ; Fort George and its Appurtenances, 418 ; Fort Missis- 
saga — Return to Niagara Falls, 419 ; Journey from Niagara Falls to the Settlement of the Six Nations on 
the Grand River, 420 ; a Morning with the Chief of the Six Nations, 421 ; Indian Relics and Customs, 
422 ; the Mohawk Church and Brant's Tomb, 423, 424 ; the Mohawk Institute — Communion-plate from 
Queen Anne, 425 ; British attack Black Rock, 426 ; Preparations for another Invasion of Canada, 427 ; 
the British forewaiyed — Passage of the Niagara River, 428 ; Incidents of the attempted Invasion, 429 ; 
Smyth's Incompetence and FoUy, 430 ; the Invasion of Canada abandoned, 431 ; a Duel, and what came 
of it— exit Smyth, 432. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

NAVAL OPERATIONS IN 1812. 

Acknowledged naval Superiority of Great Britain, 433 ; Character, Distribution, and Condition of the Amer- 
ican War Marine, 434 ; Commodore Rodgers's Squadron— first Shot in the War, 435 ; Rodgers in Euro- 
pean waters— British Squadron at Halifax, 436 ; Cruise of the Constitution, 437 ; how she eluded her 
Pursuers, 438 ; the Essex goes on a Cruise, 439 ; Cruise of the Essex, 440 ; how a Challenge was accepted 
by Commodore Porter, 441 ; the Constitution off the Eastern Coast, 442 ; Battle between the Constitution 
and Ouerriere, 443, 444 ; Destruction of the GMerrJcj'e— Effects of the Victory, 445 ; Honors to Commo- 
dore Hull, 446 ; Effect of the Victory on the British Mind, 447 ; Hull's Generosity, 448 ; Cruise of the 
Wasp, 449 ; Fight between the Wasp and the Frolic, 450 ; both Vessels captured by the Poictiers 451 ■ 
Honors to Captain Jones, 452 ; Lieutenant Biddle honored and rewarded, 453. ' ' 

CHAPTER XXIL 

NAVAL OPERATIONS AND CIVIL AFFAIRS IN 1812. 
Commodore Rodgers's second Cruise, 454 ; Battle between the United States and Macedonian, 455 ■ Cap- 
ture of the Macedonian— DRca.tvr takes her to New York, 456 ; Honors to Decatur, 457; Bainbri'dge in 
Command of a Squadron, 458 ; his Cruise on the Coast of Brazil, 459 ; Battle between the Constitution and 
Java, 460 ; Loss of the Tbwa- Incidents of the Battle, 461 ; Honors to Bainbridge, 462 ; Effects of the 
naval Battles in Great Britain, 463 ; meeting of the Twelfth Congress, 464 ; Madison re-elected— his Ad- 
ministration sustained, 465 ; Quincy's Denunciations and Clay's Response, 466; Measures for strengthen- 
ing the Army and Navy, 467 ; Retaliation— Report of the Committee on Foreign Relations 468 • Mani- 
festo of the Pnnce Regent and its Charges, 469 ; Mediation of the Emperor of Russia proposed 470 • Re 
joicings over Napoleon's Misfortunes— Peace Commissioners, 471 ; Cabinet Changes, 472. ' ' 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

EVENTS ON THE MAUMEE HfVER. 

Contemplated Expe(«tion against Maiden, 473 ; American Camp at the Maumee Rapids, 474 ; Interference 
of the Secretary of War with General Harrison, 475 ; General Clay's march to the Maumee 476 • Harri 
son assumes grave Responsibilities, 477; British and Indian Expedition against Fort Meigs 478- the 
Mission of Captam Ohver 479 ; Leslie Combs volunteers for perilous Duty, 480 ; Incidents of his Vo'va^e 
down the Maumee, 481 ; Preparations for an Assault on Fort Meig^ 482 j Attack on Fort Meigs 483 • 



CONTENTS. vii 

critical Situation of the Fort and Garrison, 484 ; Harrison's Plans against the Besiegers, 485 ; Dudley's 
Defeat and sad Results, 486 ; Arrival of Re-enforcements for Fort Meigs, 487; Effect of a Sortie from 
Fort Meigs, 488 ; the Author's Visit to the Maumee Valley, 490-493. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE WAR IN NOKTHEKN OHIO — CONSTKTJCTION OF PEEEy's FLEET. 

Harrison's Provision for the Frontier Defenses, 494 ; Kentuckians under Colonel R. M. Johnson, 495 ; Te- 
cumtha anxious for hostile Action, 496 ; Johnson's Troops at Fort Stephenson, 497 ; unsuccessful Attempt 
to capture Fort Meigs, 498 ; Fort Stephenson menaced, 499 ; Croghan determines to hold it, 500 ; it is 
summoned to surrender, 501 ; a Siege, 502 ; Fort Stephenson stormed, and the Assailants repulsed, 503 ; 
Incidents of the Night succeeding the Struggle— Honors to Croghan, 504 ; the Author's Visit to Sandusky, 
505, 506 ; also to Fremont and Site of Fort Stephenson, 507 ; Journey to Toledo — Harrison's Character 
assailed and vindicated, 508 ; Captain Periy sent to Lake Erie, 509 ; Harbor of Erie or Presq' Isle, 510; 
Construction of a Lake Fleet begun there, 511 ; Perry's Services with Chauncey and in securing American 
Vessels, 512 ; Perry's earnest Call for Men, 513 ; Erie menaced, 514; first Cruise of Perry's Fleet, 515 ; 
Harrison visits Perry, 516 ; Perry's second Cruise, 517. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

THE BATTLE OF LAKE ERIE. 

i'eiTy prepares for Battle, 518 ; his final Instructions — British Squadron in sight, 519 ; Names and Char- 
acter of the opposing Squadrons, 520; Change in the Order of Battle, 521 ; relative Position of the 
Squadrons— Opening of the Battle, 522 ; first Position of the Vessels in the Fight, 523 ; the Battle- 
Scenes on board the Lawrence, 524, 525 ; sad Condition of the Lawrence, 526 ; Perry goes from the Law- 
rence to the Niagara, 527 ; Perry breaks the British Line, 528 ; his Victory — ^British Ships vainly at- 
tempt to Escape, 529 ; Perry's famous Dispatch, 530 ; Surrender of the British Officers — Burial of the 
Dead, 531 ; sad Effects of the Battle, 532 ; Importance of Perry's Victory, 533 ; public Celebrations by 
the exultant Americans, 534 ; Honors to Elliott and his Suborinates, 535 ; a Plea for a British-Indian 
Alliance — Prediction by Washington Irving, 536 ; Author's Visit to Erie and Cleveland, 537 ; Prepara- 
tions for unveiling a Statue of Perry at Cleveland, 538 ; surviving Soldiers of the War of 1812, 539 ; the 
Statue unveiled — a remarkable Dinner-party, 540 ; a sham naval Battle — early Residents of Cleveland, 
541 ; Perry and his Captives, 542 ; Reception of Perry and Harrison at Erie, 543. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Harrison's invasion of canada — ^his home. 
Arrangements for invading Canada, 544 ; Army of the Northwest in Motion, 545 ; it crosses Lake Erie, 
546 ; Proctor, frightened, flees from Maiden — Tecumtha's scornful Rebuke, 547; vigorous Pursuit of the 
British, 548 ; the Armies in the River Thames, 649 ; Destruction of Property, 550 ; the British and In- 
dians make a Stand for Battle, 551 ; the Armies in battle Array, 552 ; Battle of the Thames, 553, 554 ; 
British defeated — Death of Tecumtha — who killed him, 555 ; Gallantry of Colonel Johnson, 556 ; Harri- 
son and Proctor properly rewarded, 557, 558 ; Returns to Detroit — Effect of the Victory, 559 ; the Au- 
thor's Visit to the Thames Battle-ground, 560, 561 ; Harrison on the Northern Frontier, 562 ; Harrison 
leaves the Atmy — AuthoV's Journey in Ohio, 563 ; Antiquities at Newark, 564, 565 ; Columbus and the 
Scioto Valley, 566 ; Chillicothe and its Vicinity, 567, 568 ; Governor Worthington's Residence, 569 ; 
Visit to Batavia and North Bend, 570 ; North Bend and its early Associations, 571 ; Courtship and Mar- 
riage of Captain Harrison and Anna Symmes, 572 ; Harrison's Tomb and Dwelling, 573, 574. 

CPAPTER XXVII. 

EVENTS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE FRONTIER AND nPPEE CANADA. 

The Energies of Great Britain displayed, 575 ; Operations in the St. Lawrence Region, 576 ; Attack on 
Elizabethtown — Retaliation, 577 ; Attack on Ogdensburg, 578 ; Defense of the Town, 579 ; Ogdensburg 
captured, 580; the Village plundered and Citizens carried off, 581 ; Author's Visit to Ogdensburg and 
Prescott, 582 ; the Canadian Rebellion, 583 ; another Invasion of Canada contemplated, 584 ; Prepara- 
tions for it, 585 ; Expedition against Little York, 586, 587 ; Americans land and drive the British to Lit- 
tle York, 588 ; Explosion of a Powder-magazine and Death of General Pike, 589 ; Capture of York and 
Escape of the British, 590 ; York abandoned — a Scalp as an Ornament, 591 ; the Author's Visit to To- 
ronto, formerly Little York, 592 ; an Adventure among the Fortifications, 593 ; notable Men and Places 
at Toronto, 594 ; Passage across Lake Ontario — Journey to Niagara Falls, 595 ; Expedition against Fort 
George — the respective Forces, 596 ; Cannonade between Forts George and Niagara, 597 ; the American 
Squadron and the landing of Troops, 598 ; a severe Battle — Capture of Fort George, 599 ; the British 
retreat to the Beaver Dams and Burlington Heights, 600 ; British Property on the Niagara Frontier de- 
stroyed by themselves — Expedition toward Burlington Heights, 601 ; the Americans- at Stony Creek, 602; 
Battle at Stony Creek, 603 ; Capture of Generals Chandler and Winder, 604 ; the Americans flee and 
are pursued, 605 ; Destruction of Property at Sodus — ^British Fleet off Oswego, 606. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

EVENTS AT SACKETt's HARBOR AND ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER IN 1813. 

British Designs on Sackett's Harbor — its Defenses, 607; General Brown in Command at Sackett's Harbor, 
608 ; Assembling of the Militia — Approach of the British, 609 ; Position of the Militia— a Panic and Flight, 
610; a Conflict — Destruction of Publi^ Stores, 611; the British retreat, 612; Sackett's Harbor and its 
Defenses, 614; the Author's Visit there — the Frigate New Orleans — a neglected Monument, 616; his- 
torical Localities around Sackett's Harbor — a Visit to Watertown and Brownsville, 617 ; the Story of 
Whittlesey and his Wife, 618 ; Movements on the Niagara Frontier, 619 ; Expedition against the British 
at the Beaver Dams, 620 ; Services of a patriotic Woman, 621 ; Defeat and Surrender of the Americans 
— Fort George invested, 622 ; the Author's, Visit to the Beaver Dams Region, 623 ; a veteran Canadian 



viii CONTENTS. 

Soldier, 624 ; Visit to Stony Creek and Hamilton, 625 ; British and Indian Raids on the Niagara Fron- 
tier, 626 ; Battle at Black Rock, 627 ; Expedition to Burlington Heights and York, 628 ; Dearborn suc- 
ceeded by Wilkinson, 629 ; Relations between Wilkinson, Armstrong, and Hampton, 630 ; Affairs on the 
Niagara Frontier, 631 ; Fort George menaced and Newark burnt, 632 ; just Indignation of the British- 
Retaliation proposed, 633 ; Fort Niagara captured— Desolation of that Frontier, 634 ; N. Y. Militia at Buf- 
falo, 635 ; Battle near Black Rock and Destruction of Buffalo, 636 ; Horrors of retaliatory Warfare, 637. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

EVENTS ON THE NORTHERN PRONTIEE IN 1813. 

Wilkinson concentrates his Forces, 638 ; General Dearborn moves into Canada, 639 ; Repulse of the British 
at La Colle— Colonel Carr, 640 ; Preparations for War on Lake Champlain, 641 ; Movements of Hamp- 
ton in Northern New York, 642 ; Chauncey tries to engage Sir James Yeo on Lake Ontario, 643 ; a Bat- 
tle at last, 644 ; Chauncey again searching for his Foe, 645 ; an Expedition for the St. Lawrence against 
Montreal — Disasters, 646 ; Hampton's Operations in the Chateaugay Region, 647; Wilkinson's Expedi- 
tion on the St. Lawrence, 648 ; Battle off French Creek — the Expedition moves down the St. Lawiience, 
649 ; the Flotilla passes Prescott, 650 ; General Brown invades Canada — Wilkinson in- Peril, 651 ; Prep- 
arations for a Battle, 652 ; Battle of Chrysler's Field, 653 ; the Americans go down the St. Lawrence, 
654 ; Character of some of the chief Leaders, 655 ; the Army in winter Quarters at French Mills, 656 ; 
its Sufferings there and Release, 657 ; Attempt to seduce American Soldiers from their Allegiance, 658 ; 
the Author's Visit to the St. Lawrence Region — Carleton Island, 659, 660 ; WilUam Johnson of the Thou- 
sand Islands, 661 ; his Exploits, Arrest, and Imprisonment, 662 ; his Services in the War of 1812, 663 ; 
a Visit to French Mills and Vicinity, 664 ; Rouse's Point — La Colle, 665 ; a Visit to Chrysler's Farm, 
Prescott, and Ogdensburg, 666. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

PEEDATOET WAEFAKE OF THE BRITISH ON THE COAST. 

Blockade of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays declared, 667 ; Operations of Blookaders in Chesapeake Bay, 
668 ; Attack on Lewiston — Cockburn, the Marauder, 669 ; Capture of Frenchtown, 670 ; Attack on 
Havre de Grace, 671 ; the Town plundered and fired, 672 ; the Author's Visit to Havre de Grace — John 
O'Neill, 673 ; Cockburn plunders and destroys other Villages, 674 ; stirring Scenes in Hampton Roads, 
675 ; a British Fleet enters the Roads, 676 ; Craney Island and its Defenders, 677 ; Preparations for 
Battle, 678 ; the British attack, are repulsed, and withdraw, 679 ; they turn upon Hampton, 680 ; they 
land and menace it, 681 ; a Struggle for the Possession of Hampton, 682 ; Americans driven out, and the 
Village given up to Rapine and Plunder, 683 ; the Author visits Craney Island and Norfolk, 684, 685 ; 
the Fortifications on Craney Island, 686 ; a Visit to Hampton, 687 ; a Daughter of Commodore Barron 
—a Veteran of 1812 — Hampton destroyed by Virginia Rebels, 688 ; Cockburn in the Potomac and on the 
Coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia, 689 ; Secret Organizations among the Slaves, 690 ; Decatur runs 
the Blockade at New York, 691 ; blockading Squadron off New London, 692 ; Alarm produced by Tor- 
pedo Vessels, 693 ; the Coast of Connecticut blockaded — the local Militia, 694 ; Decatur in the Thames, 
695 ; the Author's Visit to New London and its Vicinity, 696, 697. 

CHAPTER XXXL 

WAE ON THE OCEAN IN 1813. 

Battle between the Hornet and Peacock, 698 ; Victory of the Hornet — Prowess of the Americans respected, 
699 ; Honors to Captain Lawrence and his Men, 700 ; Cruise of the Chesapeake — her Character 701 • 
Lawrence's last official Letter, 702 ; Broke's Challenge, 703 ; the Chesapeake and her Crew, 704 • the 
Chesapeake goes out to fight, 705 ; Battle between the Chesapeake and Shannon — Death of Lawrence 
706 ; Treachery — Capture of the Chesapeake— stie is taken to Halifax, 708 ; Exultation of the British' 
709 ; Honors to Captain Broke, 710 ; Respect paid to the Remains of Lawrence and his Lieutenant Lud- 
low, 711 ; funeral Ceremonies at Salem, 712 ; funeral Ceremonies at New York — Monuments 713' stir- 
ring Scenes in Chesapeake Bay, 714 ; Cruise of the Argus in British Waters, 715 ; Battle between the 
Argus and Pelican, 716 ; Battle between the Enterprise and Boxer, 717 ; Funeral of the Commander of 
each at Portland, 718 ; Honors to Burrows and M'Call, 719 ; last Cruise of the Enterprise 720. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

CRUISE OP THE ESSEX. 

Weakness of the American Navy, 721 ; the Essex starts on a long Cruise — a Search for Baiubridge 722 • 
she sails for the Pacific Ocean, 723 ; her Search for British whaUng Vessels, 724 ; by capturing and arm- 
ing British whaling Vessels, Porter creates a Squadron, 725 ; successful Cruise among the Gallapagos Isl- 
ands, 726 ; Porter sails for the Marquesas Islands, 727 ; civil War in Nooaheevah, 728 ; Porter engages 
in the War, 729 ; the Women of Nooaheevah, 730 ; Incidents in the Harbor of Valparaiso, 731 ■ Battle 
between the Essex and two British Ships, 732 ; the Essex captured— Porter returns Home, '733 ■ ' Honors 
to Commodore Porter— his subsequent Career, 734; Rodgers's long Cruise in 1813— his Services to his 
Country, 735, 736 ; he makes another Cruise in the President — Honors to Rodgers, 737. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

WAR AGAINST THE CREEK INDIANS. 

Insurrectionary Movements in Louisiana, 738 ; military Movements in West Florida, 739 ■ Louisiana made 
a State— Insurrection in East Florida, 740 ; Action of United States Officials there-^Exnedition 711 • 
Surrender of Mobile to the Americans, 742 ; Tennessee Volunteers on the Mississippi, 743 ; they return 
to Nashville, 744 ; Tecnmtha m the Creek Country-he exhorts the Creeks to make War on the WhS 
People, 746 ; the Creek Nation and their Position, 747 ; Civil War among the Creeks— White Ppnnl» in 
Peril, 748 ; the Militia in the Keld-Battle of Burit Com Creek, 749 ; PrlparatVons for SnSower 
Alabama, 750 ; Fort Mims and its Occupants, 751 ; Rumors of impending Hostilities, 752 ; Fort Mims 



CONTENTS. ix 

crowded with Refugees, 753 ; gathering of hostile Savages near, 754 ; furious Assault on Fort Mims, 755 ; 
Massacre at Fort Mims, 756; Horrors of the Massacre, 757; Response of the Tennesseeans to a Cry for 
Help, 758 ; General Andrew Jackson in the Field — Mobile threatened, but saved, 759. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

WAK AGAINST THE CKEEK INDIAKS/ 

Jackson heeds a Cry for Help from the Coosa, 760 ; the Army threatened with Famine — ^AfTairs in the 
lower Creek Country, 761 ; Choctaw Allies — Expedition against Tallasehatche, 762; Battle of Talla- 
sehatche, 763 ; Jackson hastens to the Relief of threatened Posts, 764 ; Battle at Talladega, 765 ; the dis- 
pirited Indians sue for Peace, 766 ; Destruction o( the Hillabee Towns, 767 ; the Creek Country invaded 
from' Georgia — Battle of Auttose, 768 ; Expedition under Captain Dale, 769 ; Dale's terrible" Canoe 
Fight, 770 ; Fort Claiborne at Randon's Landing, 771 ; Battle of Econochaco, 772 ; Dissolution of the 
Armies in the Creek Country — new Volunteers, 773; Battle of Emucfeu, 774; Battle on Enotochopco 
Creek, 775 ; Battle on the Cidebee River, 776 ; East Tennesseeans and Choctaw AUies on the Way to the 
Creek Country, 777 ; Battle of the Horseshoe, 779 ; the Power of the Creek Nation broken there, 780 ; 
the subdued Indians sue for Peace — Weathersford in Jackson's Tent, 781 ; the Creek Nation ruined, 782. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

CIVIL ATFAIRS IN 1813 — EVENTS ON THE NORTHERN FRONTIER IN 1814. 

Political Composition of Congress — Peace Commissioners, 783 ; illicit Traffic — Change in public Sentiment 
— Peace Party, 784 ; revolutionary Proposition — new Embargo Act, 785 ; Rumors of Peace — Embargo 
Act repealed, 786 ; Provisions for the increase of the Army, 787 ; Prisoners of War — retaliatory Meas- 
ures proposed, 788 ; Campaign on the Northern Frontier and Lake Champlain, 789 ; Wilkinson marches 
on La Colle Mill, in Canada, 790; Battle of La Colle Mill, 791 ; end of Wilkinson's military Career, 792 ; 
Brown, moving toward the Niagara Frontier, perplexed by Orders from the War Department, 793 ; Naval 
Forces on Lake Ontario, 794 ; the British attack Oswego, 796 ; they capture Oswego, 796 ; Survivors of 
the War in Oswego, 797 ; Sackett's Harbor blockaded, 798 ; Woolsey at Big Sandy Creek with Stores 
for Sackett's Harbor, 799 ; Battle at Big Sandy Creek, 800 ; a great Cable carried to Sackett's Harbor — 
Author's Visit to Big Sandy Creek, 801 ; the AJmy on the Niagara Frontier — Red Jacket, 802 ; Fort Erie 
and the Invasion of Canada, 803 ; an Iftvasion of Canada from Black Rock, 804 ; Capture of Fort Erie, 
805; Scott prepares for battle at Street's Creek, 806 ; preliminary Fighting, 807; Scott advances — the 
British Force, 808 ; the Battle of Chippewa, 809, 810 ; the British driven from Chippewa — Indians dis- 
heartened, 811 ; the Armies inspirited by the Victory, 812 ; Preparations to cross the Chippewa Creek, 
813 ; the British retreat — Brown marches for Fort George, 814 — he falls back to Chippewa, 815. 

CHAPTER XXXVT. 

WAR ON THE NIAGARA PRONTIEB IN 1814. 

The British, re-enforced, advance toward Chippewa, 816; Scott discovers them near Niagara Falls, 817; 
the British attack Scott, 818 ; Brown advances from Chippewa, 819 ; Colonel Miller captures a British 
Battery, 820; Appreciation of his Exploit, 821;. desperate Struggle in the darkness — Victory for the 
Americans, 822 ; close of the Battle of Niagara Falls, 823 ; the Battle and the Victory considered, 824 ; 
Scott, wounded, proceeds to Washington, 825 ; Honors awarded him, 826 ; the Author's Visit to the 
Battle-grounds of Chippewa and Niagara Falls, 827, 828 ; the Army falls back and is ordered to Fort 
Erie, 829 ; the British again attack Black Rock, 830 ; Brown wounded — Gaines takes Command of the 
Army, 831 ; the American Troops at Fort Erie, 832 ; the British assail the Fort, 833 ; Battle of Fort 
Erie, 834, 835; Brown resumes Command, 836 ; a Sortie, 837; brilliant Success of General. Porter, 838 ; 
Triumph of Miller and Upham, 839 ; the British abandon the Siege, 840 ; Honors awarded to General 
Brown, 841 ; Honors to Generals Porter and Ripley, 842 ; two remarkable Survivors of the Battle of Fort 
Erie, 843 ; General Izard sends Troops to the Niagara Frontier, 844 ; he takes Command there, 845 ; the 
American Troops withdraw from Canada, 846 ; the Author visits Fort Erie and its Vicinity, 847, 848 ; 
Holmes's Expedition into Canada — Battle of the Long Woods, 849 ; Expedition to the upper Lakes, 850 ; 
Operations in that Region, 851 ; M'Arthur's Raid in, Canada, 352 — his Bravery and Generosity, 853. 

CHAPTER XXXVIL 

EVENTS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN 1814. 

The Downfall of Napoleon, 854 ; English Troops released for Service in America, 855 ; Struggle for the 
' Control of Lake Champlain, 856; Operations on the Canada Border, 857 ; alarming Order from the War 
Department, 858 ; Concentration of Troops at Plattsburg, 859 ; Position of American Works there, 860 ; 
the British advance on Plattsburg, 861 ; a Skirmish at Beekmantown, 862 ; another near Plattsburg, 
863 ; the British checked at the Saranac Bridge, 864 ; British land — our naval Forces in motion, 865 ; 
Opening of naval Battle off Plattsburg, 866 ; Battle of Lake Champlain, 867-870 ; Victory for the Amer- 
icans complete, 871 ; Casualties, 872 ; Movements of the land Troops— Battle of Plattsburg, 8?3 ; the 
British alarmed, 874 ; their hasty Flight into Canada, 875 ; Rejoicings because of Victory, 876 ; Honors 
to General Macomb, 877 ; Honors to Commodore Macdonough, 878 ; Effect of the Victory at Plattsburg, 
879 ; the Author's Visit to the Scene of War on and near Lake Champlain, 880-884 ; Operations on Lake 
Ontario, 885; a heavy British Ship on the Lake, 886; close of Hostilities on the Northern Frontier, 887. 

CHAPTER XXXVIIL 

THE WAR ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST IN 1814. 

The Blockade of New London, 888 ; amphibious Warfare on the New England Coast, 889 ; New England 
sea-port Towns blockaded, 890; Portsmouth and Boston menaced, 891 ; Preparations for the Defense of 
Boston, 892; the British Squadron attacks Stonington, 893; Captain Holmes and his Gun, 894; a Dep- 
utation sent to the British Commander, 895 ; the British repulsed— impotency of the Attack, 896 ; a 



X CONTENTS. 

British Force on the Coast of Maine, 897; Operations in Penobscot Bay and Eiver, 898 ; Prepa,rations 
at Hampden to oppose the British Invasion, 899 ; Panic and Flight of the Militia, 900 ; the British at 
Bangor, 901 ; Treatment of General Blake, 902 ; the British at Castine, 903 ; the Author s Visit to Places 
on the New England Coast— Observations at Boston, 904 ; at Salem and Marblehead, 905-907 ; Journey 
to the Penobscot, 908 ; Observations at Castine, 909 ; Voyage up the Penobscot, 910 ; Hampden, 911; 
Observations at Bangor, 912 ; Visit to New Bedford and Providence, 913 ; Stonington and Mystic, 914 ; 
Story of a faithful Daughter, 915. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE CAPTHKE OP \^^SHXNGTON CUT. 

Apathy of the Government while the Capital was in peril, 916 ; feeble Preparations for its Defense, 917; 
General Winder in Command— a Call for Troops, 918 ; Tardiness of the Secretary of War — Apathy of 
the People, 919 ; Appearance of the British in Chesapeake Bay, 920 ; gathering of Troops — ^Destruction 
of Barney's Flotilla, 921 ; the Forces gathered for the Defense of Washington and Baltimore, 922 ; the 
British move on Washington from the Patuxent, 923 ; Battle Lines formed near Bladensburg, 924 ; Ex- 
citement in the national Capital, 925 ; the British advance on Bladensburg, 926 ; Arrangements to receive 
them, 926, 927; Dueling -ground near Bladensburg, 928 ; Battle of Bladensburg, 929, 930 ; Barney 
wounded and made Prisoner, 931 ; the victorious British march on Washington City, 932 ; Destruction 
of the pubHc Buildings, 933 ; Destruction of the Navy Yard, 934 ; Flight of the President and his Cabinet 
— Patriotism of Mrs. Madison, 935 ; Object of the Invasion, 936 ; the British retreat from Washington, 
937 ; Slavery the cause of the Disaster at Bladensburg, 938 ; a British Fleet passes up the Potomac, 939 ; 
Alexandria plundered — Toi-pedoes, 940 ; the British Squadron returns to Chesapeake Bay — Visit to the 
Battle-ground at Bladensburg, 941; Kalorama and Oak HiU Cemetery, 942; Congressional Buiial- 
ground — Fort Washington, 943. 

CHAPTER XL. 

EVENTS AT EALTIMOBE, PHILADELPHIA, AND NEW YORK IN 1814. 

The British in Chesapeake Bay, 944 ; Exploits of Parker and Cockbum, 945 ; Operations of the British 
Fleet in Chesapeake Bay, 946 ; Baltimore threatened, 947 ; Preparations for the Defense of Baltimore, 
948 ; Fortiiications and Troops for its Defense, 949 ; the British land and advance on Baltimore, 950 ; 
Position of the contending Armies, 951 ; Battle of North Point — Death of the British Commander, 952, 
953 ; the British Fleet moves up to attack Fort M'Henry, 954 ; Bombardment of the Fort, 955 ; the 
British Invaders driven off, 956 ; " The Star-spangled Banner," 957; the British land Troops march on 
Baltimore, 958 ; they retire to their Ships — the British Programme, 959 ; Honors to Colonel Armistead, 
960 ; the Author's Visit to Baltimore and the historical Localities around it, 961-965 ; New York and 
Philadelphia relieved, 965 ; the Volunteer Companies of Philadelphia, 966 ; Organization of Troops and 
Estabhshment of Camps, 967 ; Patriotism of the Citizens of Philadelphia, 968 ; New York aroused — Com- 
mittee of Defense, 969 ; the Citizens assist in casting up Fortifications — " The Patriotic Diggers," 970 ; 
the Fortifications around New York, 971-975; a floating Battery authorized by Congi'ess, 976 ; the Steam- 
ship Fulton the First, 977. 

' CHAPTER XLL 

NAVAL WAErAKE ON THE OCEAN IN 1814 — AMERICAN PRIVATEERS. 

New Vessels for thfe Navy— the John Adams, 978 ; Cruise of the Wasp — Capture of the Reindeer, 979 ; the 
Wasp and Avon — Loss of the Wasp, 980 ; Fight between the Peacock and Epervier, 981 ; Barney's Flo- 
tilla in Chesapeake Bay, 982 ; the Constitution, 983 ; Battle between the Constitution, Cyane, and Levant, 
984; the Constitution and her Prizes — Honors to Commodore Stewart, 985; Stewart's Home in New 
Jersey, 986 ; Decatur's Squadron — he puts to Sea in the President, 987; Battle between the President 
and Endymion, 988 ; the rest of Decatur's Squadron puts to Sea, 989 ; Battle between the Hornet and 
Penguin, 990 ; Honors to Captain Biddle, 991 ; Cruise of the Hornet.wA Peacock — the Navy at the end 

of the War, 992 ; the first Privateers, 993 ; Cruise of the Rossie, 994 ; first Prize taken to Baltimore 

the Globe,^ 995 ; Cruise of the Highflyer, Yankee, and Shadow, 996 ; Salem and Baltimore Privateers, 997 • 
Privateering at the close of 1812, 998; remarkable Cruise of the(7o7ne<,999; Cruise of the Chasseur, Sar- 
atoga, Dolphin, Lottery, and Yankee, 1000 ; Cruise of the General Armstrong, Ned, and Scourge, 1001 ; 
the Teaser — Capture of the Eagle — Cruise of the Decatur, 1002; Cruise of the David Porter, Globe, and 
Harpy, 1003 ; the Career of the General Armstrong, 1004 ; Honors to Captain Reid — Cruise of the Pnnce 
de Neufchdtel, 1005 ; Cruise of the Saucy Jack and Kemp, 1006 ; Cruise of the Macdonough and Amelia 
— the American Privateers and their Doings, 1007. 

CHAPTER XLH. 

CIVIL AFFAIRS IN 1814 — OPERATIONS IN THE GULF REGION. 

Boston'the Centre of illicit Trade, 1008 ; the Peace Faction assails the Government and the Public Credit 
1009; Effects of the Conspiracy against the Public Credit, 1010; new financial Measures — Revival of the 
Public Credit, 1011 ; Measures for increasing the Army — Discontents in New England 1012 ■ the Hart- 
ford Convention, 1013-1015 ; the Members oif the Hartford Convention, 1016; Jackson' recalled to active 
Service in the Gulf Region, 1017 ; the Baratarians and their Leader, 1018 ; Jackson perceives Mischief 
at Pensacola, 1019 ; Fort Bowyer threatened by a British Squadron, 1020 ; the Fort attacked and the 
Assailants repulsed, 1021 ; the British at Pensacola — Jackson marches on that Post, 1022 ; Flight of the 
British and Indians, 1023 ; Jackson in New Orleans— Appearance of the British, 1024 ; Preparations to 
receive the Invaders, 1025 ; Capture of the American Flotilla on Lake Borgne, 1026 ; Jackson's Review 
of Troops in New Orieans and their Disposition, 1 027 ; the British approach the Mississippi 1028 ■ thev 
march on New Orleans— Response to Jackson's Call for Troops, 1029 ; Events below New Orleans 1030 • 
a night Battle, 1031; the British fall back, 1032 ; the Americans withdraw, 1034. ' ' 



CONTENTS. xi 

CHAPTER XLUI. 

DEFENSE OP NEW ORLEANS — PEACE. 

Jackson's Line of Defense, 1034; a gloomy Day for the Invaders — Arrival of General Pakenham, 1035 ; 
Seat of War in Louisiana and Florida, 1036 ; severe Battle on the 28th of Decemher, 1037 ; the British 
vanquished — the American Lines of Defense, 1038 ; the British cast up Kedoubts near the American Line, 
1039 ; a heavy Battle, 1040 ; the British repulsed and then re-enforced, 1041 ; Jackson prepares to receive 
the increased British Forces, 1042 ; Character and Disposition of his own Forces — Position of his Army 
on the 7th of January, 1043; a British Detachment crosses the Mississippi, 1044; Battle of New Orleans, 
1046-1049 ; Disposal of the Dead, 1050 ; Attack on Forts St. Philip and Bowyer — Jackson's Army in 
New Orleans, 1051; Honors accorded to Jackson and his Troops, 1052 ; Rumors of Peace and continu- 
ance of Martial Law, 1053; Incidents of Jackson's Trial for Contempt of Court, 1 054 ; the Author's Jour- 
ney to New Orleans — Lexington and "Ashland," 1055 ; Frankfort and its Cemetery, 1056; a Visit to 
Nashville and the " Hermitage," 1057 ; New Orleans and its historic Men and Places, 1058 ; Attack on 
Fort Sumter — Uprising of the People, 1059; Negotiations for Peace and the Commissioners, 1060; Ghent 
and the Sympathy of its Inhabitants with the Americans, 1061 ; the Treaty of Peace, 1062, 1063 ; Rejoic- 
ings of the American People, 1064; Commemorative Medals — its Ratification, 1065; Position of the Re- 
public at the close of the War, 1067 ; Readjustment of National Affairs — Dartmoor Prisoners, 1068 ; 
Prosperity of the Republic and its Relations to other Nations, 1069 ; Text of the Treaty of Peace, 1071. 




1. inumiuated Frontispiece. 

2. Title-page. 

3. Preface Page ill 

4. Contents v 

5. Illustrations zlii 

6. Initial Letter 17 

7. First Great Seal of the United 

States 20 

8. War 22 

9. Britannia aroused 22 

10. Portrait of William Jackson.. 26 

11. Jackson's Monument 27 

12. Portrait and Signature of Gou- 

verneurMorns 28 

13. Signatures of the Members of 

the Constitutional Conven- 
tion 30,31,32 

14. Tail-piece 34 

15. Initial Letter 35 

16. Campus Martins 37 

17. Portrait and Signature of Mias 

Heckewelder 37 

18. Portrait and Signature of Gen- 

eral St.Clair 38 

19. Signature of Winthrop Sargent 38 

20. Signature of Lord Dorchester. 38 

21. FortHarmar 39 

22. Fort Washington, on the Site 

ofCincinnati 41 

23. Signature of,Joaeph Harmar. . 41 

24. The Maumee Ford— Place of 

Harmar's Defeat 42 

25. Map— Harmar's Defeat 43 

26. Hall's Crossing-place 43 

27. Apple-tree near Harmar's Ford 44 

28. Map— Plan of St. Clair's Camp 

and Battle 47 

29. Signature of Tobias Lear 49 

30. Lowi'y'a M^onument 52 

31. Map— Plan of Line of Wayne's 

32. Signature of A. M'Kee 54 

33. Map— Battle of the Fallen Tim- 

bers 55 

34. Turkey-foot Eock 55 

35. Signature of Colonel Ham- 

tramck...# 56 

36. Colonel Hamtramck's Tomb.. 56 

37. Tail-piece— ludianlmplements 57 

38. Initial Letter 58 

39. Portrait and Signature of T. 

Pinckney 64 

40. Liberty Cent '. 65 

41. Portrait and Signature of Gen- 

eral Hamilton 66 

42. Portrait and Signature of 

Thomas Paine 69 

43. A Bad Measure 69 

44. An Asaignat 74 

45. Portrait of Louie XVI 76 

46. Paine fitting Stays 76 

47. Memorial Medal 76 

48. InitialLetter 79 

49. TheContrast 81 

50. Portrait and Signature of 

. Thomas Mifflin 82 

51. Portrait and Signature of E. C. 

Genet 83 

52. Portrait and Signature of John 

Jay 85 

53. Signature of AlexanderM'Kim 89 

54. Seal of the Bepnblican Society 

ofBaltlmore 89 

55. Portrait and Signature of C. C. 

Pinckney 92 

56. Portrait and Signature of John 

Adams 93 

6T. Portrait and Signature of Joel 

Barlow 94 



68. Signature of Benjamin Stod- 

dert Page 96 

59. InitialLetter 98 

60. John Bull taking a Lunch 99 

61. Signature of Stephen Decatur 101 

62. Portrait and Signature of John 

Barry 101 

63. Commodore Barry's Monu- 

ment 101 

64. Naval Pitcher 104 

65. Medal presented to Commo- 

dore Truxtun 105 

66. Signature of Thomas Truxtun 105 

67. Truxtun's Grave 105 

63. The Lutheran Church in Phil- 
adelphia 110 

69. Washington Medal Ill 

70. Tail-piece — MThersonBlue.. Ill 

71. InitialLetter 112 

72. Portrait and Signature of 

Thomas Jefferson 114 

73. Algiers in 1800 117 

74. Portrait and Signature of 

Eichard Dale 118 

75. Dale's Monument 119 

76. Portrait and Signature of Ed- 

ward Preble 120 

77. Tripolitan Weapon 121 

78. Tripolitan Poniard 122 

79. Medal given to Commodore 

Preble 123 

80. NavalMonument 124 

81. Signature of William Eaton. . 126 

82. InitialLetter 130 

S3. Portrait and Signature of A. 

Burr 135 

84. Signature of John Adair 136 

85. Blennerhassett's Eesidence.. 136 

86. Signature of Blennerhassett. . 136 

87. Portrait and Signature of Eu- 

fasKing 143 

88. Portrait and Signature of Wil- 

liam Pinkney 148 

89. InitialLetter 149 

90. Lynnhaven Bay 166 

91. Portrait and Signature of 

Commodore Barron 159 

92. Portrait and Signature of 

JamesMonroe 161 

93. InitialLetter 16T 

94. Gun-boats 168 

98. Portrait and Signature of Jo- 

siahQuincy 174 

96. Portrait and Signature of 

James Madison 176 

97.. Fort or Battery Severn, at An- 
napolis 181 

98. Commodore Eodgera's Eesi- 

dence 182 

99. Signals, No. 1 182 

100. SignalBook 182 

101. Signals, No. 2 183 

102. Signals, No. 3 183 

103. Signals, No. 4 183 

104. Signal Alphabet 183 

105. Signal, No. 6. 184 

106. Portrait and Signature of 

Commodore Eodgers 185 

107. Tail-piece— Gauntlet 186 

108. InitialLetter 1 187 

109. Birth-place of Tecumtha and 

his Brother 188 

110. The Prophet 189 

111. Joseph Barron 191 

112. Indian Detecter 191 

113. Portrait and Signature of Gen- 

eralBoyd 194 

114. Signature of Peter Funk 196 

116. FortHarrison 197 



116. 
117. 

118. 

119. 

120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 
124. 
125. 
126. 

127. 
128. 

129. 

130. 
131. 
132. 
133. 
134. 

135. 
136. 
137. 
138. 
139. 

140. 
141. 
142. 
143. 
144. 
146. 
146. 
147. 
148. 

149. 
150. 
161. 
162. 
153. 
154. 
155. 



157. 
158. 
159. 
160. 
161. 

162. 
163. 

164. 
166. 
166. 
167. 
168. 
169. 

170. 

171. 
172. 
173. 
174. 
176. 

176. 

177. 



Signat're of JudgeNaylor Page 198 
Portrait and Signature of A. 

Whitlock 199 

Portrait and Signature of Wil- 
liam H. Harrison 200 

View at Tippecanoe Battle- 
ground 202 

Signature of J. Snelling 203 

Map— Battle of Tippecanoe. 208 
Vignette to a Mournful Ballad 208 
Tippecanoe Battle-ground... 209 

Tail-piece — ^Wigwam 299 

Initial Letter 210 

Portrait and Signature of H.— ~_ 

Clay 211 

The Gerrymander l-^U 

Portrait and Signature of J. - 

Eandolph 215 

Portrait and Signature of J. 

C.Calhoun 216 

Signature of Josiah Quincy . . 217 
Signature of James Emott. . . 217 

Signature of J. H. Craig 220 

Fac-simileofaNewspaperCut 224 
Portrait and Signature of Gov- 
ernor Clinton 225 

Governor Clinton's Tomb 226 

Caricature— Josiah the First. 228 

InitialLetter 233 

Portrait of George the Fourth 233 
Signature of Jonathan Wil- 

Tiama 235 

Fort Independence 236 

Castle Williams 237 

Plan of Fort M'Henry 237 

Torpedo, Plate 1 238 

Torpedo, Plate 2 239 

Torpedo, Plate 3 239 

Torpedo, Plate 4 240 

Deatruction of the Dorothea. . 240 
Portrait and Signature of Rob- 
ert Fulton 242 

Fnlton'aBirth-place 242 

Signature of Edward Baynes. 247 
Portrait of Henry Dearborn. . 249 
GeneralDearbom'sEesidence 280 

The Parting Stone 250 

InitialLetter 261 

Portrait and Signature of Wil- 
liam Hull 252 

Portrait and Signature of John 

Johnston 253 

Place of Hull's Eendezvous.. 254 
Signature of Governor Meigs. 255 

View at Bloody Bridge 261 

Colonel Babie's Eesidence... 262 
View at the Eiviere aux Ca- 
nards 264 

Map— Detroit Frontier 266 

Portrait and Signature of Dun- 

canM'Arthur 267 

Mackinack,fromEoundIsland 267 

Arch Eock, Mackinack 268 

FortMackinack 269 

Tail-piece- Canoe 271 

InitialLetter 272 

Fort Niagara, from Port 

George 274 

Portrait of Thomas B. Van 

Home 275 

Barracks at Sandwich 278 

Maguaga Battle-ground 281 

Tecumlia 282 

Signature of J. B. Glegg 283 

Portrait and Signature of D. 

Noon 292 

Portrait andSignature of Lew- 
is Cass 294 

Tail-piece— Neglected Grave, 296 



XIT 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



178. Initial Letter Page 297 

179. Signatureof Jno. B. Laughton 298 

180. View at Maiden, Upper Can- 

ada 299 

181. British Cannon at Detroit 300 

182. Signature of HobtEeynolds.. 300 

183. Signature of C. Moran 302 

L84. Einzie Mansion and I'ort 

Dearborn 303 

185. Tlie Blaclc Partridge's Medal. 306 

186. Map— Site of Cliicago 308 

187. Bloclc-house at Cliicago 312 

188. Port Wayne in 1812 315 

189. The Little Turtle's Grave 31S 

L90. BridgeattheHeadoftheMau- 

mee 316 

191. Portrait and Signature of Z. 

Taylor 818 

192. General Taylor's Residence. . 319 

[93. Initial Letter 320 

194. Port Defiance 333 

;95. Site of Port Defiance i 

[96. Apple-tree at Defiance 334 

.97. Taiil-piece — Indians at Eains 

of a Village 337 

98. Initial Letter 338 

,99. Portrait and Signature of Si- 
mon Perldns 340 

:00. Signature of Elijah Wads- 
worth 340 

01. Portrait and Signature of E. 

Whittlesey 341 

02. Signature of William Eustis.. 349 

03. Winchester's Head-quarters. . 354 

04. Map — Movements at French- 

town 358 

05. Residence of La Salle 359 

06. Monroe, ttom the Battle- 

ground.. .' 361 

07. Signature of Laurent Duro- 

cher 362 

08. Portrait and Signature of Jas. 

Knaggs 363 

09. Tail-piece — Tomahawk and 

Scalping-knife 364 

10. Initial Letter 365 

11. Arsenal Building, Watertown 366 

12. Signature of Colonel Benedict 367 

13. Portrait of Captain William 

Vaughan 368 

14. Cipher Alphabet and Numer- 

als 370 

15. Signature of Paul Hamilton.. 370 

16. Signatureof Richard Dodge.. 373 

17. Appearance of Fort Presenta- 

tion in 1812 373 

18. Design on Indian Pass 374 

19. Signature of G. D. Young. ... 376 

20. Portrait and Signature of Ble- 

azer Williams 377 

21. Old Church in St. Regis 378 

22. Boundary Monument 879 

33. The Port of Buffalo in 1813... 380 
34 Remains at Fort Schlosser... 380 

35. Signature of H. Dearborn 381 

26. Map of the Niagara Frontier. 382 

37. Portrait and Signature of Ste- 

phen Van Rensselaer 384 

38. Signature of William Howe 

Cuyler 387 

39. Portrait and Signatureof Jes- 

se D.Elliott 388 

30. Tail - piece — Oar, Boarding- 
pike, and Rope 388 

!1. Initial Letter 389 

!2. Signature of Alexander Smyth 389 

S3. Qneenston in 1812 390 

!4. Sgnature of JohnRPenwick 391 
55. View from the Site of Vroo- 

man's Battery 891 

)6. Signature of John Chrystie. . . 892 
i7. Signature of James Collier. . . 393 
i8. Landing-place of the Ameri- 
cans at Qneenston 395 

S9. Russell's Law OfSce 396 

10. Portrait and Signature of Jolin 

E.Wool 397 

11. Signatureof J. R.Mullany...! 399 

12. Portrait andSignature of John 

Brant 401 

13. Brant's Monument 401 

14. Signature of Joseph G. Totten 403 
tS. Signature of J. Gibson 403 

16. New Magazine at Port George 405 

17. Signature of R.H. SheafFe 405 

18. Medal in Memory oT General 

Brock 400 

19. Brock's Monument 406 



260. 
261. 



265. 



270. 

271. 
272. 
273. 
274. 

275. 
276. 

277. 
278. 

279. 

280. 
281. 

282. 



I. Portrait and Signature of Sol- 
omon Van Rensselaer..Page 407 

. Signature of John Lovett 407 

I. T^l-piece — Proclamation and 

Sword 411 

;. Initial Letter 412 

. Brock's Monument on Queens- 
ton Heights 414 

. Monument where Brock fell.. 41C 
. Signature of Solomon Vroo- 

man 417 

. PresentOutline of Port George 418 
. French Magazine at Fort 

George 418 

. Distant View of Fort Missis- 
saga 419 

Interior View — Fort Mississa- 

ga in 1860 419 

Mission-house on the Grand 

River 421 

Portrait and Signature of G. 

H.M.Johnson 421 

Ornamental Tomahawk 421 

Deer-shank Weapon 422 

Silver Calumet 422 

Ancient Scalping-knife 422 

Mohawk Church, Grand Riv- 
er, C.W 423 

Interior of Mohawk Church. . 423 

Communion Plate 425 

General Porter's Residence, 

Black Rock 426 

Signature of George M'Peely. 426 
Signature of Cecil Bisshopp.. 428 
Signature of Samuel Angus... 428 
Tail-piece — Snail on Maple- 
leaf. 432 

Initial Letter 433 

Signature of R. Byron 436 

The Constitution m 1860. 



Fac-simile of Commodore Por- 
ter's Writing 441 

Portrait and Signature of 
Commodore Hull 442 

Hull's Monument 442 

Portrait of James Richard Da- 
cres. ....... ............... 444 

Hull's iiedai." ! .... ... . ... '. .. 446 

283. Portrait and Signature of Cap- 

tain Jones 449 

284. Signature of Thos. Whinyates 449 

285. Signature of J. P. Beresford. . 451 

286. AWasp on a Frolic 452 

287. Medal awarded to Captain 

Jones 452 

288. The Biddle Um 453 

289. Tail-piece— Eagle bearing off 

the Trident of Neptune 453 

290. Initial Letter 464 

291. Signature of John S. Carden. 456 

292. Medal awarded to Decatur. . . 458 

293. Portrait and Signature of 

Commodore Bambridge 459 

294. Bainbridge's Monument 459 

295. Bainbridge's New York Gold 

Box 462 

296. Bainbridge's Albany Gold Box 462 

297. Bainbridge's Medal 463 

Bainbridge's Urn 463 

Tail-piece — Napoleon's Flag 

and Star descending 472 

300. Initial Letter 473 

301. Signature of C. Gratiot 474 

Portrait and Signature of 

Green Clay 476 

303. View of Cincinnati from New- 
port in 1812 470 

304. Map— Fort Meigs and its Vi- 
cinity 477 

305. Fac-simile of Harrison's Let- 
ter 479 

Portrait and Signature of 
Leslie Combs 480 

307. Up the Maumee Valley 481 

308. Site of the British Batteries 
ftom Port Meigs 482 

309. Portrait and Signature of Wm. 
Christy 483 

310. Plan of Port Meigs 484 

.^11. Signature of W.E.Boswell... 487 

312. Map— Siege of Fort Meigs 488 

313. Remains of Walker's Mona- 

ment 489 

314. Portrait of Peter Navarre 490 

315. Ruins of Port Miami 491 

316. Up the Maumee from Maumee 

City 492 

317. Well at Fort Meigs 492 



318. Tail-piece— A Scalp Page 493 

319. Initial Letter 494 

320. Signature of E.M.Johnson.. 496 

321. Johnson's Monument 4S6 

322. Portrait and Signature of G. 

Croghan 499 

323. View at Fremont, or Lower 

Sandusky 500 

324. Plan of Fort Stephenson 503 

825. Gold Medal awarded to Gen- 
eral Croghan 505 

326. Lower Castalian Spring 506 

327. Site of Fort Stephenson 507 

328. Part of Short's Sword-scab- 

bard 507 

329. Perry's Residence 609 

330. Portrait and Signature of Dan- 

iel Dobbins 509 

331. Wayne's Block-house at Brie 610 

332. Site of French Fort and En- 

trance to Erie Harbor 511 

333. Month of Cascade Creek 511 

334. Block-house 511 

335. Map— Erie and Presq' Isle Bay 514 

336. Portrait and Signature of Ush- 

er Parsons 516 

337. Put-in Bay 617 

338. Initial Letter 618 

339. Perry's Look - out, Gibraltar 

Island 518 

340. Perry's Battle-flag. : 519 

341. Portrait of O.H.Perry 521 

342. View of Perry's Birth-place. . . 521 

343. Catafalco 621 

344. Perry's Monument 621 

345. The two Squadrons just before 

the Battle 622 

346. Portrait and Signature of S. 

Champlin 623 

347. First Position in the Action. . 523 

348. Signature of J. J. Yamall 524 

349. Second Position in the Battle 526 

360. Portrait and Signature of J. 

Chapman 627 

351. Signature of Thomas Holdnp 528 

352. Position of the Squadrons at 

the close of the Battle 529 

363. Almy's Sword 529 

354. Fac-simile of Perry's Dispatch 530 

355. The Burial-place, Put-in Bay. 532 

356. Queen Charlotte and Johnny 

Bull 634 

357. The Perry Medal 536 

358. The Elliott Medal 535 

359. Signature of Asel Wilkinson. 538 
300. Portrait of Benjamin Fleming 538 

361. Perry's Lantern...... 639 

362. Perry's Statue 640 

363. Portrait and Signature of S. 

Sholes 541 

364. Champlin's Chair 642 

365. Perry's Quarters at Erie 543 

306. Portrait of T. H. Stevens 643 

367. Initial Letter 644 

368. Portrait and Simatare of C. 

S.Todd .? 548 

369. Dolsen's 549 

370. View at the Mouth of M'Greg- 

or's Creek 650 

371. M'Gregor's Mill 650 

372. Portrait of Oshawahnah 552 

373. View on the Thames 553 

374. Map— Battle of the Thames. . 654 

375. Portrait and Signature of S. 

Theobald 666 

376. The Harrison Medal 658 

377. The Shelby Medal 658 

378. Tecumtha's Pistol 660 

379. Thames Battle-ground 561 

380. Remains of an ancient Coflln 664 

381. The four Sides of the Holy 
Stone 664 

Stone Axes 664 

Sectional View of a Pyramid. 504 
384. Great Earth-work near New- 
ark 665 

The old State-house 667 

General M 'Arthur's Residence 668 
387. Portrait and Signature of T. 

Worthington 568 

Adena, Governor Worthing- 

ton's Residence 669 

Portrait and Signature of Mrs. 
Harrison 571 

390. Pioneer House, North Bend. . 571 

391. Block-house at North Bend.. 671 

392. Han-ison's Grave 573 

393. Symmes's Monument 573 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XV 



394. Harrison's Residence at North 

Bend Jage S74 

395. Initial Letter BT6 

396. Block-house at Brockville 5T7 

39T. Parish's Store-hous^. BT8 

398. Portrait and Signature of D. 

W.Church 678 

399. Site of Fort Presentation 579 

400. Map— Operations at Ogdens- 

burg 580 

401. Portrait and Signature of J. 

York 680 

402. Court-house, Ogdensburg 580 

403. The battered Wind-mill 683 

404. Wind -mill and Enins near 

Prescott 584 

405. Fort 'Wellington in ISCO 584 

406. Portrait and Signature of Z. 

Pike 586 

407. Little York in 1813 687 

408. Bemains of the Western Bat- 

tery 588 

409. Powder-magazine at Toronto 589 

410. Map— Attack on Little York.. 690 

411. Signature of John Eoss 592 

412. Eemains of old Fort Toronto. 593 

413. Old Fort at Toronto in 1860... 593 
414- View on the Niagara near 

Lewiston 695 

416. Entrance to the Niagara Eiver 597 

416. Plan of Operations at the 

Month or the Niagara 599 

417. A North Biver Steam-boat. . . 601 

418. Portrait and Signature of W. 

H.Merritt 603 

419. Battle-ground of Stony Creek 603 

420. Tail -piece — Destmction of 

Store-houses 606 

421. Initial Letter.' 007 

432. Portrait and Signature of Ja- 
cob Brown 608 

423. General Brown's Monument. . 60S 

424. Light-house at Horse Island.. 609 

425. Signature of Capt.Mulcaster. 610 

426. Map— Operations at Sackett's 

Harbor 612 

427. Sackett's Harbor in 1814 613 

428. Map— Sackett's Harbor and its 

IJefenses . . 614 

429. Signature of Henry Bckford..' 615 

430. The New Orleans 616 

431. Pike's Monument 616 

432. Eemains of Fort Pike 617 

433. Block-house, Sackett's Harbor 617 

434. Mansion of General Brown. . . 618 

435. Whittlesey Eock,Watertown. 618 

436. Signature of C. G. Boerstler. . . 

437. German Church 

438. Portrait and Signature of Lau- 

ra Secord 

439. Beaver Sams Battle- ground 

and Surroundings 624 

440. Signature of James Dittrick.. 624 

441. Bisshopp's Monument 628 

442. Interior of Fort Niagara 634 

443. Signature of General A.Hall. 635 

444. Tail-piece — Farm-house on 

Are.... 637 

445. Initial Letter 637 

446. Portrait and Signature of J. 

G.Swift 638 

447. Signature of Joseph Bloom- 

fleld 639 

448. Signatureof A. BeSalaberry. 639 

449. Portrait and Signature of Eob- 

ertOarr 640 

450. Portrait and Signature of Jas. 

Wilkinson 646 

451. Signature of W.Hampton 648 

462. Mouth of French Creek 649 

453. Bald Island and Wilkinson's 

Flotilla 660 

464. Chrysler's in 1855 652 

465. Signature of Eob't Swartwont 652 

456. Signature of J. A. Coles 653 

457. Signature of J. Walbach 653 

458. Map— Chrysler's Field 654 

459. Signature of M. Myers 664 

460. Place of Debarkation on the 

Salmon Eiver 656 

461. Lewis and Boyd's Head-quar- 

ters 666 

462. Brown's Head-quarters 656 

463. Fac-simile of written Placard 658 

464. Eemains of Fort Carleton 669 

465. Indian Armlet 660 

466. Lieht-house'kept by Johnston 661 

467. Peel Island. . . .• -. . . 661 



620 
620 



621 



468. Portrait and Signature of W. 

Johnston Page 662 

469. Johnston's Commission 663 

470. French Mills in 1860 664 

471. Signature of James Campbell 665 

472. The Block-house Well 666 

473. Signature of Peter Brouse 666 

474. Victoria Medal 666 

475. Initial Letter 607 

476. Interior of old Fort Norfolk.. 668 

477. Signature of A. M'Laue 668 

478. Signature of Admiral Cock- 

burn 609 

479. Landing-place of the British at 

Havre de Grace 671 

480. The Pringle House 672 

481. Episcopal Church 672 

482. John O'Neil's Sword 673 

483. General ViewofCraney Island 675 

484. Signatureof Jos. Tarbell 675 

486. Signature of J. Sanders 676 

486. Portrait and Signature of W. 

B. Shubrick 676 

487. Portrait and Signature of Eob- 

ert Taylor 677 

438. Signature of B. J. Neale 678 

489. Portrait and Signature of Jas. 

Faulkner 678 

490. Plan of Operations at Craney 

Island .- 679 

491. Signature of J'osiah Tattnall. . 680 

492. The Centipede 680 

493. View at Hampton Creek in 

1853 681 

494. Plan of Operations at Hamp- 

ton 683 

495. Head - quarters of Beokwith 

and Cockbum 683 

496. British Consul's House 685 

497. Oyster Fishing 685 

498. Eemains of Fortifications on 

Craney Island 686 

499. Block-house on Craney Island 686 

500. Magazine on Craney Island. . 686 

501. Landing-place of the British 

at Murphy's 687 

602. Kirby House 688 

503. Soldiers' Monument at Point 

Pleasant 689 

504. Osceola's Grave 690 

505. Entrance to Bonaventure 691 

506. Signature of T. M. Hardy 691 

607. New London in 1813 692 

608. Light-house at New London.. 694 

509. Signature of H. Burbeck 694 

510. Burbeck's Monument 694 

511. Commodore Eodgers's Monu- 

ment 696 

512. Ancient Block-house at Fort 

Trumbull 697 

613. New London Harbor from 

Fort Trumbull 697 

514. The old Court-house 697 

515. Initial Letter 698 

516. The Lawrence Medal 700 

61T. Hornet and Peacock 700 

618. Signature of Sam. Evans 701 

519. Fac-simile of Lawrence's Let- 
ter 702 

620. Fac-simile of Broke's Chal- 
lenge 703 

521. The Chesapea^ disabled 706 

522. Portrait of Captain Broke 707 

523. Shannon and Chesapeake at 

Halifax 70S 

524. Portrait and Signature of Jas. 

Lawrence 709 

625. Signature of Admiral Warren 709 

626. Admiral Warren's Seal 709 

627. Silver Plate presented to Cap- 

tain Broke 710 

528. Signature of George Budd 711 

529. Coffins 712 

■"i30. Lawrence Memorial 712 

631. Monument of Lawrence and 

Ludlow 713 

632. Lawrence's early Monument. 713 

533. Portrait of W. H. Allen 716 

534. Lieutenant Allen's Monument 716 

535. Graves of Burrows, Blyth, and 

Waters 718 

536. The Burrows Medal 719 

537. The M'Call Medal 720 

638. Initial Letter 721 

639. Portrait and Signature of D. 

Porter 721 

540. The mighty Gattanewa 728 

541. The Bssffic and her Prizes 729 



586. 



600. 
601. 
602. 
603. 
604. 
605. 
606. 

607. 



610. 

611. 
612. 
613. 
614. 
615. 
616. 
617. 
618. 
619. 
620. 
621. 



Marquesas Drum Page 730 

Rattle of the JilsdeXt Phcebe^ and 

Cherub 733 

David Porter's Monument.... 734 

Initial Letter 738 

Signature of Fulwar Skipwith 740 
Signature of Hugh Campbell. 740 
Portrait and Signature of Gen- 
eral Eobertson *. . . 747 

Signature of Sam Dale 749 

Map— Seat of War in Southern 

Alabama 761 

FortMims 766 

Portrait of John Coffee 759 

Initial Letter 760 

Map— Battle of Talladega 765 

Claiborne Landing 770 

Map— Seat of the Creek War 

in Upper Alabama 778 

Maj)— Battle of the Horseshoe 780 

Initial Letter 78S 

Signature of N. Macon 784 

Embargo— a Caricature 785 

Death of the Terrapin 787 

Signature of J. Mason 788 

Signature of C. Van De Venter 788 
Signature of George Glasgow 788 
Map— Affair at La Colle Mill. 790 
La Colle Mill and Block-house 791 

The dismantled Superior 794 

Sir J.L.Yeo 795 

Attack on Oswego 796 

Signature of A. Bronson 796 

Signature of H. Eagle 797 

Signature of M. M'Nair 797 

Fort at Oswego in 1855 798 

Place ofBattle at Sandy Creek 799 
Otis's House, Sandy Creek. . . 800 

Signature of Alfred Ely 800 

Signature of Harmon Bhle. . . 801 
Portrait of Jehaziel Howard. . 801 

Eed Jacket's Medal 802 

Portrait of Eed Jacket 803 

Profile and Signature of Wil- 
liam M'Eee 803 

Portrait and Signature of C. 

K.Gardner 805 

Signature of General Eiall... 805 

Street's Creek Bridge 806 

' Eemains of TSte-de-pont Bat- 
tery 807 

Signature of Joseph Treat 807 

Street's Creek Bridge, looking 

North 808 

General Towson's Grave 809 

Map— Battle of Chippewa 810 

^nature of Worth 812 

m)rth's Monument 812 

Jones's Monument 812 

Mouth of Lyon's Creek 813 

Initial Letter 816 

View at Lundy's Lane 818 

Portrait and Signature of J. 

Miller ; 820 

Miller's Medal 821 

Portrait of John M'Neil 821 

Flag of the Twenty-fifth 822 

Map— Battle of Niagara Falls 823 

Scott's Medal 826 

Signature of Winfleld Scott. . . 826 
Signature of Jas. Cummings. . 827 
Hospital near Lundy's Lane.. 828 

Wooden Slab 828 

Eemains of Douglass's Bat- 
tery and Fort Erie 830 

Portrait and Signature of E. 

. P.Gaines 831 

Drummond's Secret Order 832 

Gaines's Medal 836 

-Portrait and Signature of P. 

B.Porter 838 

Porter's Tomb 838 

Map— Siege of Fort Erie 839 

Wood's Monument. 840 

Brown's Medal 841 

Brown's Gold Box 841 

Signature of E. W. Eipley 842 

Porter's Medal 842 

Sealof the City of New York. 842 
Signature of De Witt Clinton 842 

E^)ley's Medal 843 

Portrait of Eobert White 844 

Fac-simile of White's Writing 844 
Portrait and Signature of G. 

Izard 846 

Euins of Fort Erie 846 

FortBrie Mills 84T 

Signature of James Sloan. . . . 847 



XVI 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



62T. 



630. 
631. 



634. 
635. 



63T. 



640. 

641. 
642. 
643. 
644. 
645. 
646. 
64T. 



649. 
650. 
651. 
652. 
653. 
654. 



656. 
65T. 
668. 
659. 
660. 
661. 
662. 
663. 
664. 
665. 
666. 
667. 
668. 
669. 
670. 
671. 

6T2. 

6T3. 
674. 

675. 
6T6. 
677. 

678. 
679. 
680. 
681. 
682. 
683. 

684. 
685. 
686. 
687. 



690. 
691. 
692. 



895. 
696. 
697. 
698. 
699. 
700. 

701. 
702. 
703. 
T04. 
705. 
706. 
707. 
708. 
709. 
710. 
Til. 



Soldiers' Monument Page 848 

Eiley's Monament 849 

Signature of B. M'Douall. . .'.. 850 

Map— M'Artlim-'8 Raid 852 

Portrait of General Scott 853 

Initial Letter 854 

Portrait and Signature of T. 

Macdonough 856 

Judge Moore's House 857 

Signature of D. Bissell 857 

Signature of G. Prevost 868 

Portrait and Sig. of B. Mooers 858 
Portrait and Signature of A. 

Macomb 859 

Sampson's 859 

Map— Fortifications at Platts- 

burg 860 

M. Smith's Monument 861 

Howe's House 862 

Piatt's Residence 863 

Old Stone Mill 864 

TheSaranac 865 

Henley's Medal 868 

Oassin's Medal 868 

Portrait and Signature of H. 

Paulding 869 

View from Cumberland Head 870 

Map — ^Naval Action 871 

Macdonough's Dispatch 872 

Portrait and Sig. of J. Smith . 872 

Battle of Plattsburg 873 

The Sarauac at Pike's Canton- 
ment 874 

Buius of Port Brown 875 

Artillery Quadrant '. . 875 

General Mooera's Grave 876 

United States Hotel 876 

Macomb's Monument 877 

Macomb's Medal 878 

Macdonough's Medal 878 

Macdonough's Farm-house. .. 879 

Downie's Grave 879 

View in Beekmantown 880 

Soldiers' Graves 880 

Map— Seat of War 881 

Store-houses 882 

Mooers's House 882 

Woolsey's House 883 

Ball in Mooers's House 884 

Portrait and Signature of P. 

Gregory 888 

Portrait and Signature of M. 

Crane 885 

Crane's Monument 886 

Portrait and Signature of I. 

Chauncey 887 

Chauncey's Monument 887 

Initial Letter 888 

Portrait aud Signature of J. 

Montgomery 891 

Fort Pickering 891 

Carcass 894 

Stonington Flag 894 

The Cobb House 896 

Denison's Monument 896 

Portrait and Signature of J. 

Sherbrooke 897 

Fott Porter, Castine 897 

Signature of B. Barrie 898 

General Blake's House 898 

CrosbjT's Wharf. 899 

Portrait and Signature of C. 

Morris 900 

Morris's Monument 901 

Town-house, Hampden 902 

Beed'sShop 902 

Eemains of Fort George 903 

Signature and Seal of G. Gos- 

selin 903 

Yankee Doodle TTpset 904 

Billet-head of CoTistitution 905 

Fort Pickering, Salem 900 

Eemains of Fort Lee 906 

Marblehead Harbor 907 

Fort Sewall 907 

Portrait aud Signature of Dr. 

Browne 908 

Small Cannon 909 

View from Fort George 909 

Eemains of Fort Castine 909 

Eemains at Fort Griffith 910 

Port Point 910 

The Bacon Tree 911 

Mouth of the Kenduskeag 911 

Portrait and Sig. of Van Meter 912 

Bemains of Fort Phoenix 913 

Arsenal at Stonington 914 

PortraitaudSig. of J. Holmes 914 



712. 

713. 
714. 
715. 
716. 

717. 

718. 

719. 
720. 
721. 
722. 
723. 
724. 
725. 
726. 
72T. 



730. 
731. 
732. 
733. 
734 

735. 
736. 
737. 
738. 
739. 

740. 
741. 

742. 

743. 

744. 
745. 
746. 
747. 
748. 
749. 
750. 
751. 
752. 
753. 
754. 
755. 
766. 
757. 
758. 

759. 

760. 
761. 
762. 
763. 
764. 
765. 
766. 

767. 
768. 
769. 
770. 
771. 
772. 
773. 
774. 
775. 
776. 
777. 
778. 
779. 
780. 
781. 
782. 
783. 

784. 
785. 
786. 
787. 
788. 
789. 
790. 
791. 
792. 
793. 
794. 
795. 
796. 
797. 



Portrait and Signature of A. 

B. Holmes Page 914 

Denison's Grave 914 

Tail-piece— Bomb-shell 915 

InitialLetter 916 

Signature of P. Stuart 916 

Portrait and Signature of D. 

L.Clinch 917 

Portrait and Signature of W. 

H. Winder 918 

Signature of H. Carbery 920 

Signature of J. P. Van Ness. . 920 
Signature of T. B. Stansbury.. 921 

Signature of J. Sterett 921 

Signature of W. Smith 922 

Signature of S. West 922 

Signature of W. D. Beall 922 

Signature of W. Scott 922 

Signature of J. Tilghman 922 

OH Mill, Bladensburg 924 

Bridge at Bladensburg 927 

Besidence of J. C. Bives 927 

Dueling-ground, Bladensburg 928 

Signature of J. Davidson 928 

Map— Battle of Bladensburg.. 929 
Portrait and Signature orj. 

Barney 930 

Barney's Spring 931 

Bullet 981 

The Capitol in 1814 932 

B§mains of the Capitol 933 

Eemains of the President's 

House 934 

Signature of T. Tingey 934 

Portrait and Signature of D. 

Madison 935 

Portrait and Signature of J. 

Barker 936 

Portrait and Signature of G. 

E.Gleig 937 

Signature ofD. Wadsworth... 938 

Fort Washington 939 

Sketch of Torpedo 940 

The Unknown 942 

Barlow's Vault 942 

Kalorama 942 

Cenotaph 943 

Gerry's Monument 943 

Initial Letter 944 

Portrait and Sig. of P. Parker. 946 
Portrait and Sig. of S. Smith . 947 

Montebello 947 

Eodgers's Bastion 949 

Methodist Meeting-house 950 

Portrait and Signature of J. 

Strieker 950 

Portrait and Signature of D. 

M'Dougall 952 

Battle of North Point 953 

Battle-flag 954 

Signature of M. Bird. ........ 954 

Fort M'Henry in 1861 954 

Signature of J. H. Nicholson., 955 

Signature of S. Lane 965 

Portrait and Signature of G. 

Armistead 955 

Signature of F. S. Key 956 

Star-spangled Banner 967 

The Armistead Vase 960 

Armistead's Monument 960 

Signature of W. K. Armistead 960 

Battle Monument 961 

The City Spring, Baltimore... 962 
Portrait and Sig. of J. Lester. 963 
North Point Battle-ground... 963 
Monument where Boss fell. . . 964 
Eemains of Circular Battery.. 965 

State Fencible 966 

Signature of D.D.Tompkins. 970 
Signature of Morgan Lewis... 970 
Fort Stevens aUd Mill Bock. . 971 

Tower at Hallett's Point 971 

Fortifications around New 

York 972 

Mill Eock Fortifications 973 

Fort Clinton 973 

PortClintonandHarlemEiver 973 

M'Gowan's Pass.*. 974 

North Battery 974 

View from Fort Fish 974 

Courtenay's, and Tower 975 

Bemains of Block-house 975 

M'Gowan's Pass in 1860 975 

Signatureof A. and N.Brown. 976 

Iron-clad Vessel 976 

Section of Floating Battery... 977 

FuUon the First. 977 

Initial Letter 978 



798, 



801. 



804 
805. 
806. 

SOT. 



821. 
822. 
823. 
824. 
825. 
826. 
827. 



Portrait and Signature of J. 

Blakeley Page 979 

Blalfeley's Medal 980 

Portrait and Signature of L. 

Warrington 981 

Warrington's Medal 982 

Billet-head of Cyane 985 

Stewart's Medal 986 

Stewart's Besidence 986 

Stewart's Sword 986 

Portrait and Signature of C. 

Stewart 987 

Portrait and Signature of S. 

Decatur 988 

Decatur's Monument 989 

Portrait and Sig. of J. Biddle 990 

Biddle's Medal 991 

Privateer Schooner 993 

Signatureof Admiral Sawyer 994 
Portrait and Signature of S. 

C.Eeid 1004 

Initial Letter 1008 

Signature of A. J. Armstrong 1011 
Portrait and Signature of A. 

J.Dallas 1011 

Signature of T.Jesup 1013 

Signatures of the Members of 

the Hartford Convention.. 1014 

Caricature 1015 

The Hermitage 1017 

Portrait of W. C. C. Claiborne 1019 

Portrait of A. Jackson 1020 

Map— Attack on Fort Bowyer 1021 
Jackson's City Head-quarters 1024 
Portrait of Maj or Plauchfi... 1024 

Patterson's Monument 1025 

Map — Fight of Gun-boats and 

Barges 1026 

Cathedral in New Orleans... 1027 

FortSt.John 1028 

VillerS'B Mansion 1029 

Portrait of De la Eonde 1030 

Lacoste's Mansion 1031 

Map— Affair below N.Orleans 1032 
Portrait of De Lacy Evans.. . 1032 

A Tennessee Flag 1033 

Initial Letter 1034 

De la Eonde's Mansion 1034 

Map— Seat of War in Louisi- 
ana 1036 

Jackson's Head-quarters, . . . 1037 

Chalmette's Plantation 1039 

Map— Battle of New Orleans 1040 

Eemains of a Canal 1042 

Plauch^'s Tomb 1043 

You'sTomb 1043 

Map — Position of Troops 1044 

Battle of New Orleans. ...... 1047 

Monument 1048 

Pecan-trees 1050 

Map— Fort St. Philip 1051 

Jackson's Medal , 1052 

Jackson's Draft 1053 

Signature of D. A. Hall 1054 

The Old Court-house 1054 

Ashland 1065 

Bodley's Grave 1055 

Jackson's Tomb 1055 

Clay's Monument 1056 

Grave of Daniel Boone 1056 

Kentucky Soldiers' Monu- 
ment 1057 

Portrait and Signature of F, 

Eobertson 1058 

Portrait of A. Henner 1058 

JapanPlnm 1059 

Portrait of J. Q. Adams 1059 

Portrait of J. A Bayard 1060 

Adams's Homes 1060 

ViewofGhent 1061 

Cipher Writing 1061 

Pac-simile of MS, of Treaty 

ofGhent 1062 

Seal and Sig, of Gambler 1062 

Seal and Sig, of Goulburn , . . 1062 
Seal and Sig. of W. Adams . . 1062 
Seal and Sig. of J. Q, Adams. 1062 
Seal and Sig. of J. A. Bayard 1062 

Seal and Sig. of H. Clay 1063 

Seal and Sig. of J. Eussell . . . 1063 
Seal and Sig. of A. Gallatin. . 1063 
Por't and Sig. of C. Hughes. 1063 

Medal of Gratitude 1065 

Treaty of Peace Medal 1065 

Allegorical Picture— Peace. . 1066 

Dartmoor Prison 1068 

Tail-piece — Civil and Mill- 

tary Power X073 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



OP 



THE WAR OF 1812. 




CHAPTER I. 

"I see, I see, 
Freedom's established reign ; cities, and men, 
Numerous as sands upon the ocean shore. 
And empires rising where the sun descends ! 
The Ohio soon shall glide by many a town 
Of note ; and where the Mismaippi stream, 
By forests shaded, now runs sweeping on, 
Nations shall grow, and states not less in fame 
Than Greece and Rome of old. We, too, shall boast 
Our Scipios, Solons, Catos, sages, chiefe, 
That in the lap of Time yet dormant lie, 
Waiting the joyous hour of life and light." 

Philip FEENEAtr, 1775. 

UCH was the pvophecy of an Amer- 
ican poet when the war for his 
country's independence had just been kindled; and 
similar were the prescient visions of the statesmen 
and sages of that hour, who, in the majesty of con- 
scious rectitude, decreed the dismemberment of a mighty 
empire and the establishment of a nation of freemen in 
the New World. Their rebellion instantly assumed the 
dignity of a revolution, and commanded the respect and 
sympathy of the civilized nations. Their faith was per- 
fect, and under its inspiration they contended gallantly 
for freedom, and won. We, their children, have seen the 
' minstrel's prophecy fulfilled, and all the bright visions 
of glory that gave gladness to our. fathers paled by a splen- , 
dor of reality that makes us proud of the title — Ameeican 
Citizen. 
When, on the 25th of November, 1783, John Van Arsdale, a 
sprightly sailor-boy of sixteen years, climbed the slushed flag-staff 
in Port George, at the foot of Broadway, New York, pulled down the 
'' i British ensign that for more than seven years had floated there, and un- 
j furled in its place the banner of the United States,' the work of the Rev- 
olution was finished. As the white sails of the British squadron that 
bore away from our shores _the last armed enemy to freedom in Amer- 



' Before the British left Fort George they nailed their colors to the summit of the flag-staflf, knocked off the cleets, 
and " slushed" the pole from top to bottom, to prevent its being climbed. Van Arsdale (who died in 1836) ascended by 
nailing on cleets, and applying sand to the greased flag-staff. In this way he reached the top, hauled down the British 
flag, and placed that of the United States in its position. It is believed by some that the nailing of the flag there by the 
British had a higher significance than was visible in the outward act, namely, a compliance with orders from the impe- 
rial government not to strike the flag, as in a formal surrender, but to leave it flying. In token of the claim of Great 
Britain to the absolute proprietorship of the cotontry then abandoned. It was believed that the absence of British au- 
thority in the United States would be only temporary. 

B 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The hopes of the Americans not realized. ^ They were free, hut not independent. 

ica became mere specks upon the horizon in the evening sun to the straining eyes of 
eager thousands gazing seaward beyond the Narrows,' the idea pf absolute independ- 
ence took possession of the mind and heart of every true American. He saw the visi- 
ble bonds of British thraldom fall at his feet, and his- pulse beat high with the inspira- 
tion of conscious freedom, and the full assurance that the power and influence of Brit- 
ish sovereignty had departed from his country forever. 

Alas ! those natural, and generous, and patriotic, and hopeful emotions were falla- 
cious. They were born of a beautiful theory, but derived no real sustenance from so- 
ber facts. They were the poetry of that hour of triumph, entrancing the spirit and 
kindling the imagination. They gave unbounded pleasure to a disenthralled people. 
But there were wise and thoughtful men among them who had communed with the 
teachers of the Past, and sought knowledge in the vigorous school of the Present. 
They diUgently studied the prose chapters of the great volume of current history spread 
out before them, and were not so jubilant. They reverently thanked God for what 
had been accomplished, adored him for the many interpositions of his providence in 
their behalf, and rejoiced because of the glorious results of the struggle thus far. But 
they clearly perceived that the peace established by the decrees of high' contract- 
ing parties would prove to be only a lull in the great contest — a truce soon to be 
broken, not, perhaps, by the trumpet calling armed men to the field, but by the stern 
behests of the inexorable necessities of the new-born republic. The revolution was 
accomplished, and the political separation from Great Britain was complete, but abso- 
lute independence was not achieved. 

The experience of two years wrought a wonderful change in the public mind. The 
wisdom of the few prophetic sages who warned the people of dangers became painful- 
I ly apparent. The Americans were no longer the legal subjects of a monarch beyond 
I the seas, yet the power and influence of Great Britain were felt like a chilling, over- 
I shadowing cloud. In the presenc^of her puissance in all that constitutes the material 
j strength and vigor of a nation^lKey felt their weakness ; and from many a patriot heart 
j came a sigh to the lips, and found expression there in the bitter words of deep humili- 
i ation — We are free, but not independent. 

Why not ? Had not a solemn treaty and the word of an honest king acknowledged 
the states to be free and independent ? 

Yes. The Treaty of Peace had declared the confederated colonies " to be free, sov- 
ereign, and independent states ;" and that the King of Great Britain would treat them 
as such, and relinquish "all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights 
of the same."z The king, in his speech from the throne," had said, "I .Decembers 
have sacrificed every consideration of my own to the wishes and opinion ^itas." ' 
of my people. I make it my humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God that Great 
Britam may not feel the evils which might result from so great a dismemberment of 
the empire, and that America may be free from those calamities which have formerly 
proved, in the mother country, how essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of consti- 
tutional liberty. Religion, language, interest, affections may, and I hope will, yet prove 
a bond of permanent union between the two countries: to this end neither attention 
nor disposition shall be wanting on my part."^ 

• The passage from New York Harbor to the sea, between Long Island and Staten Island 

» See Article I. of the Treaty of Peace between the United States and Great Britain sTgned at Paris „n thP ,^ nf 
fhrnS?SlS?es'^"^^'''°''*^^''^'^^^"^«^^^'^'"^^"'-"-J-'"^™>^«^^^^^^^ 

=1 This acknowledgment was wrung from the king. He had lone detested the verv n«m<. „f „„o, *v . 
and tUs feeling was strengthened by his Intense personal hatred of DFranMnw^osecoo°Lr^^ 
given him the distinction of Arch-rebel. The king carried his prejudices so far tS lir JohnZwi/^.^ f ■ * 
resign his place as President of the Eoyal Society in this wise : The king urgently reques ed th^ sS t„^^fh?-T°-J^ 
the authority of its name, a contradiction of a scientific opinion of the rebellious -Prankliu ^i^rfe rented thlf-V'"* 
not mhiB power to reverse the order of nature mA rosioTioa Tho ^ii„„f oi- tL v ^ ,' """S'^ replied that it was 
courtier, advocated the opinion which was nltrZzefbfbt'J?/.^^^^ Joseph Banks, with the practice of a true 

ety. See Wright's m^lL «™fer luSZlTmnlZul^ """' '^"'"'°' °' *' ^°^^ ^ocl- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



19 



Reception of John Adama in England. Why the Am ericans were not independent. Articles of Confederation. 

This |ras all very kind, and yet the Americans were not independent. 

Why not ? Had not the representative of their independent sovereignty been ap- 
pointed by the Congress to reside as the agent of the republic in the British capital, 
and been received with cordiality ? 

Yes. John Adams had been appointed" minister plenipotentiary to the . Febraary 24, 
Court of Great Britain, and had been ordered to leave sunny France for fog- "^■ 

gy England. The Duke of Dorset, the British embassador at Paris, had treated him 
most kindly at Auteuil, and had as kindly prescribed a gay court-dress to be worn by the 
embassador at his first presentation to the king on his majesty's birth-day. That plen- 
ipotentiary had been presented," most graciously received, and affected almost b j„ne 4, 
to tears by these honest words of good King George: "I was the last man in ^^^^• 
the kingdom, sir, to consent to the independence of America ; but, now it is granted, I 
shall be the last man in the world to sanction a violation of it." 

This reception was significant, and this declaration of his majesty was explicit and 
sincere. Yet the Americans were not independent. 

Why not ? Because t?iey had not formed a nation, and thereby created a power to C 
be respected; because British statesmen were wise enough to perceive this weakness, 
and sagacious enough to take advantage of it. Without the honesty of the king, mis- 
led by the fatal counsels of the refugee loyalists who swarmed in the British metropo- 
lis, and governed wholly by the maxims and ethics of diplomacy, the ministry cast 
embarrassments in the way of the Confederation, neglected to comply with some of the 
most important stipulations of the Treaty of Peace, maintained a haughty reserve, and 
waited with complacency and perfect faith to see the whole fabric of government in the 
United States, cemented by the bonds of common interest and common danger while 
in a state of war, crumble into fragments, and the people return to their allegiance as 
colonists of Great Britain. Their trade and commerce, their manufactures and arts, 
their literature, science, religion, and laws were yet largely tributary to the parent 
country, without a well-grounded hope for a speedy deliverance. To this domination 
was added a traditional contempt of the English for their transatlantic brethren as an 
inferior people,^ and the manifestation of an illiberal and unfriendly spirit, heightened 
by the consciousness that the Americans were without a government sufliciently pow- 
erf#l to command the fulfillment of treaty stipulations, or an untrammeled commerce 
suflSciently important to attract the cupidity and interested sympathies of other na- 
tions. 

Such is a general statement of reasons why th^ United States were not inde- 
pendent of Great Britain after their total political separation from her. These gave 
to Dr. Franklin and others the consciousness of the incompleteness of the struggle 
commenced in 1775. When a compatriot remarked that the war for independence was 
successfully closed, Franklin wisely replied, " Say, rather, the war of the Bevolution. ^ 
The war for independence is yet to be fought." 

I have remarked that our fathers had not formed a nation on the return of peace, 
and in that fact was the inherent weakness of their government, and the spring of all 
the hopes of the royalists for their speedy return to colonial dependency. To illustrate 
this, let us take a rapid survey of events from the ratification of the Treaty of Peace 
in the autumn of 1784, to the formation of the National Constitution in the autumn 
of 1787, 

The Articks of Confederation, suggested by Dr. Franklin in the summer of,1775, 
adopted by the Continental Congress in November, 1777, and finally settled by the 
ratification of all the states in the spring of 1781, became the organic law of the great 
American League of independent commonwealths, which, by the first article of that 
Constitution, was styled " The United States of America." In behalf of this Confeder- 

1 "Even the chimney-sweepers on the streets," said Pitt, in a speech in the House of Commons inlT63, "talkboast- 
ingly of their subjects in America." 



20 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The League of States. 



The States not sovereign. 



The Public Debt. 



acy, commissioners were appointed by the Continental Congress to negotiate f^r peace 
with Great Britain. That negotiation was successful, and, in September, 1783, a defin- 
> September 3, itive treaty was signed at Paris'^ by the respective commissioners^ of the 
''®^- two governments. It was subsequently ratified by the Congress and the 

Crown. In the first article of the ti-eaty all the states of the League were named, for 
the simple purpose of definitely declaring what provinces in the New World foi'med 
"The United States of America," as there were British, French, and Spanish provinces 
there not members of the League; and also because they were held to be, on the part 
of the English, independent republics, as they had been colonies independent of each 
other.2 

The League now assumed a national attitude, and the powers of the Confederacy were 
speedily tested. The bright visions of material prosperity that gladdened the hearts 
of the Americans at the close of the war soon faded, and others more sombre appeared 
when the financial and commercial condition of the forming republic was contemplated 
with candor. A debt of seventy millions of dollars lay upon the shoulders of a wasted 
people. About forty-four millions of that amount was owing by the Federal govern- 
ment (almost ten millions of it in Europe), and the remainder by the individual states. 
These debts had been incurred in carrying on the war. Even while issuing their paper 
money in abundance, the Congress had commenced borrowing; and when, in 1780, 
their bills of ci-edit became worthless, borrowing was the chief monetary resource of 
the government. This, of course, could not go on long without involving the republic 
in embarrassments and accomplishing its final ruin. The restoi-ation of the public credit 
or the downfall of the infant republic was the alternative presented to the American 
peoj^le. 



1 See note 2, page IS. 
■ t^t!,,"''??*''!''"?'' ^.'^l^ie^ous political doctrine known as supreme state sovereignty, whose hndamental dogma 
■s that the states then forming the inchoate repul)Iic were absolutely independent sovereignties, have cited this namin" of 
X,r ™'' T^ f f ' '" that treaty m support of their views. The states were independent commonwealths, but not sover- 
ZloZ.J^ f n™ 'fS'!f ."" '?.PT'"a ^'"= '=°'°"'"'' ^'l 't^'es had never been in that exalted position. They were 
dependencies of Great Britain until the Declaration of Independence was promulgated, wlien they immediately a-umed 
he position of equals in a National League, acknowledging the general government ^-hich they thus e"ablishedas"he 
supreme controlling power, having a broad signet for the common use, bearing the words, "Seal of he Un ed Sta es ' 




FIE3T GKEAT SEAL OF THE imTTED STATES.* 



as Its insignia of anthority. When a treaty of peace was to be negotiated, the states did not each chno 
sioner for the purpose, hut these agents were appointed by the General Congress, as representative, of the " 'i^'^'^-T 
of the Contederation, without reference to any particular states. And when, a few years later the „ , /I T"'"^' 
PEOPLE" 18 the phrase) formed and ratified a National Constitution, they disowned alUn, ependent sHte "P" < ^' '"' 
rese^i^ed to the states only municipal rights, the exercise of which should not be in conTaCt^n ^mVoT^^n^lr^o? 



^ For a history (with illustrations) of this first Great Seal of the United States, 
xiii., p. 178, written by the author of this work. 



see a paper in Harper's Magazine, vol. 



OB" THE WAE OF 1812. 21 



Attempts to restore the Public Credit and establish Commercial Kelations. Attitude of the States. 

With a determination to restore that public credit, the General Congress immediately 
put forth all its strength in efforts to produce such a result. A few weeks after the 
preliminary Treaty of Peace was signed, the Congress declared that "the establishment 
of permanent and adequate funds on taxes or duties, which shall operate generally, 
and, on the whole, in just proportion, throughout the United States, is indispensably 
necessary toward doing complete justice to the public creditors, for restoring pub- 
lic credit, and for providing for the future exigencies of the war."' Two months 
later" the Congress recommended to the several states, as " indispensably nee- » April is, 
essary to the restoration of public credit, aud to the punctual discharge of ™*- 
the public debts," to vest the Congress with power to levy, for a period of twenty-five 
years, specified duties on certain imported articles, and an ad valorem duty on all 
others, the revenue therefrom to be applied solely to the payment of the interest and 
principal of the public debt. It -was also proposed that the states should be required 
to establish for the same time, and for the same object, substantial revenues for supply- 
ing each its proportion of one million five hundred thousand dollars annually, exclusive 
of duties on imports, the proportion of each state to be fixed according to the eighth 
article of the organic law of the League.^ This financial system was not to take effect 
until acceded to by every state. 

This proposition was approved by the leading men of the country, but it was not 
adopted by the several states. They all took action upon it in the course of the succeed- 
ing three years, but that action was rather in the form of overtures — indications of 
what each state was willing to do — not of positive law. All the states except two 
were willing to grant the required amount, but they were not disposed to vest the 
Congress with the required power. " It is money, not power, that ought to be the ob- 
ject," they said. " The former will pay our debts, the latter may destroy our liber- 
ties:'^ 

This first important effort of the Congress to assume the functions of sovereignty 
was a signal failure, and the beginning of a series of failures. It excited a jealousy be- 
tween the state and general governments, and exposed the utter impotency of the lat- 
ter, whose vitality depended upon the will of thirteen distinct legislative bodies, each 
tenacious of its own peculiar rights and interests, and miserly in its delegation of power. 
It was speedily made manifest that the public credit must be utterly destroyed by the 
inevitable repudiation of the public debt. 

The League were equally unfortunate in their attempts to establish commercial rela- 
tions with other governments, and especially with that of Great Britain. The Liberal 
ministry, under the Earl of Shelburne when the preliminary Treaty of Peace was signed, 
devised generous measures toward the Americans. Encouraged by a lively hope there- 
by engendered, American commerce began to revive. William Pitt, son of the emi- 
nent Earl of Chatham,' then at the age of only twenty-four years, was Chancellor of the 
Exchequer. With a clear perception of the value to Great Britain of friendly relations 
between that government and the new republic, he introduced a bill into Parliament 
for the regulation of commerce between the two countries, by which trade with the 
British West India Islands and other colonial possessions of the crown was thrown 
open to the enterprise of the merchants of the United States. 

In this proposed measure was involved a powerful element of solid peace and har- 
mony between the two governments; but there seemed not to be wisdom enough 
among the statesmen of Great Britain for a practi cal perception of it. The shipping 

1 Journal of CoDgress, February 12, 1783. The last clause was necessary, because only prelimirmy articles of peace 

''f^tTfS&Z\X:;iottl:^^nr.enU New Hamplire, «TOS , Massachusetts $2^,^, Khodemand, 
$32,318; Connecficut, $192,091 -New York, $128,243, New Jersey, $83 358 ; Pennsylvan a, $205,189 ; Delaware, $22,443 ; 
Maryland, $141,517 ; Virginia, $256,487 : North Carolina, $109,006 ; South Carolina, $96,183 ; Georgia, $16,030. 

3 ThTresolutons of Congress, aid the proceedings of the several State Le^slatures, with remarks thereon by "AEe- 
poblicMi, " were published in the mo York Gazettear, and afterward in pamphlet form, in the autumn of 1780, by Carroll^ 
* Patterson, 32 Maiden Lane, New York. 



22 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Dissolution of the Liberal British Ministry. 



The new Cabinet. 



Its discordant Elements 



interest, then potential in Parliament, with strange blindness to its own welfare and thai 
of the state, successfully opposed it ; and the Liberal Shelburne ministry did not survivt 
the proposition a month. It was dissolved, and, after a ministerial hiatus of several 
weeks, during which time faction threatened the peace if not the stability of the throne 
a Cabinet was formed of materials the most discordant hitherto.' North and Fox, Burkt 
and Cavendish, Portland and Stormont, whO' had differed widely and debated bitterly 
on American atfairs, coalesced, much to the astonishment of the simple, the scandal of 
political consistency, and the delight of satirists with pen and pencil.^ 

The new Cabinet listened to other counsels than those of the sagacious Pitt, and, in- 
stead of acting liberally toward the United States, as friends and political equals, they 
inaugurated a restrictive commercial policy, and assumed the offensive hauteur of lord 
and master in the presence of vassals or slaves. Echoing the opinions of the acrimoni- 
ous Silas Deane, the specious Tory, Joseph Galloway, and Peter Oliver, the refugee 
Chief Justice of Massachusetts,^ English writers and English statesmen made public 
observations which indicated that they regarded the American League as only alien- 
ated members of the British realm. Lord SheiBeld, in a formidable pamphlet, gave 
expression to the views of the Loyalists and leading British statesmen, and declared 
his belief that ruin must soon overtake the League, because of the anarchy and confu- 

' The political satires and caricatares of the day Indicate the temper of the people. Of these the war in America formed 
the staple subject at the time in question. The conduct of that war, its cessation or continuance, formed the topic 

of violent debates in Parliament, caused rancor 
among politicians, was the basis of new party or- 
ganizations, and a source of great anxiety among 
the people. Among those who employed carica- 
tures in the controversies Sayer and Gillray were 
the chief. The latter soon outstripped all com- 
petitors, and gave to the world more than twelve 
hundred caricatures, chiefly political. One of his 
earliest productions was issued at the period in 
question, in which the original positions of the 
diflferent leaders of the coalition were exhibit- 
ed in compartments. In one, entitled "War," 
Fox and Burke, in characteristic attitudes, are 
seen thundering against the massive Lord North. 
In another com- 
partment, called 
"Neither Peace 
nor War," the three orators are, in the 
same attitudes, attacking the prelimina- 
ry Treaty of Peace with the United States. 
Under them are the words " The Astonishing Coa- 
lition." Another caricature was called "The Loves 
WAB ?• I "2 ™* *® ^^*Ser ; or. The Coalition Wed- 

■F . ,T!"^ popular caricature was a burlesque 
n ;.,.T .V n,v , . P"=*<"'*l'™'ory of the sudden friendship between 

'ox and North. The la ter was commonly known in political circles as "the 
iadger." In another pnnt Fox and North were represented under one coat 
tandmg on a pedesta , and called "The ^ate Idol," This the king (who del 
Bsted the whole affau.) was expected to worship. In another, the two are seen 
pproachmg Britannia (or the people) to claim her sanction. She rejects them 
"oplrTestoatn" " ''""''' '" '^ ^'"°™ ^"' "°'='^ ^.''^^ distance 1^ 
The coalition finally became unpopular, and Gillray, in a caricature entitled 
■Britannia Aroused, or. The Coalition Monsters Desteoyed," represents her i^ 
fhry, grasping one of the leaders by the neck and the other by the legan^ 
nrlmg them from her as enemies to liberty. I have copied from WrUfs I^ 
lava under the Hmee o/Hamver the most forcible portions of the two carkt 

Silas Deane had been an active supporter of the American cause, and was sent to W™„.o 
ental Congress, early in 1TT6. In the autumn of that year he was associated wftt,^! ^ ?,'."' ^° ^^ent of the Conti- 
iissioners to the French Court. Deane's nnfltness for his sSHS soon mad/"»!'™'''f ^'"i Arthur Lee as com- ■ 
ie close of m. He went to England at the close of the war, anrthlre vented Ms sS'^': "f.?"" ^"^ recalled at 
Joseph Galloway was a Pennsylvanian, who espoused the republican cause and Zif ^T" ^^ ^o^trymen. 
1 1774, but soon afterward abandoned his countjjien and went to EnS KeZuTf^^ """"^ *^' Congress 

:n°^^twh^rrhVXriS^:aT'^^ "-*" "^«- ^« -- '^^^^ 

3tts Assembly m 1774, and soon afterward went to England, where he SedSi iraMg™ 79™" ^^ ** Massaehu- 





OF THE WAE OF 1812. 23 



Expectations of British States men. Lord Slieffleld's Pamphlet. British Legislation. Public Dangers. 

sion in which they were involved in consequence of their independence. He assumed 
that the New England States in particular would speedily become penitent suppliants 
at the foot of the king for pardon and restoration as colonies. He saw the utter weak- 
ness and consequent inefliciency of the League as a form of government, and advised 
his countrymen to consider them of little account as a nation.^ " If the American 
states choose to send consuls, receive them, and send a consul to each state. Each 
state will soon enter into all necessary regulations with the consul, and this is the 
whole that is necessary." In other words, the League has no dignity above that of a 
fifth-rate power, and the states are still, in fact, only dislocated members of the British 
Empire.^ 

In considering the more remote causes of the War of 1812, and the final independ- 
ence of the United States achieved by that war, that pamphlet of Lord Sheffield, which 
gave direction to British legislation and bias to the English mind in reference to the 
American League, may be regarded as a most important one. It was followed by 
Orders in CounciP by which American vessels were entirely excluded from the British 
West Indies ; and some of the staple productions of the United States, such as fish, 
beef, pork, butter, lard, et cetera, were not permitted to be carried there except in Brit- 
ish bottoms. These orders were continued by temporary acts until l'i'88, when the 
policy was permanently established as a commercial regulation by act of Parliament. 

In view of this unfriendly conduct of Great Britain, the General Congress, in the 
spring of 1784, asked the several states to delegate powers to them for fifteen years, by 
which they might compel England to be more liberal by countervailing measures of 
prohibition.* Well would it have been for the people of the young republic had some 
restrictive measures been adopted, whereby British goods could have been kept from 
their ports, for in a very short time after the peace a most extravagant and ruinous 
trade with Great Britain was opened. Immense importations were made, and private 
indebtedness speedily added immensely to the evils which the war and an inadequate 
government had brought upon the people. But the appeal of the Congress was in vain. 
The states, growing more and more jealous of their individual dignity, would not invest 
the Congress with any such power ; nor would they, even in the face of the danger of 
having their trade go into the hands of foreigners, make any permanent and uniform 
arrangements among themselves. Without public credit, with their commerce at the 
mercy of every adventurer, without respect at home or abroad, the League of States, 
free without independence, presented the sad spectacle of the elements of a great nation 
paralyzed in the formative process, and the coldness of political death chilling every 
developing function of its being. 

Difficulties soon arose between the United States and Great Britain concerning the 

I " It will not be an easy matter," he said (and he no donbt spoke the language of the English people in general), " to 
bring the American states to act as a nation ; they are not to be feared as sueh by UB. It will be a long time before they 
can engage or will concur in any material expenses. A stamp act, a tea act, or such act that can never again occnr, 
would alone unite them. Their climate, their staples, their manners are different ; their interests opposite ; and 
that which is beneficial to one is destructive to the other. We might as reasonably dread the effects of combinations 
among the German as among the American states, and deprecate the resolves of the Diet as those of the Congress. In 
short, every circumstance proves that it will be, extreme folly to enter into any engagements by which we may not wish 
to be bound, hereafter. It is impossible to name any material advantage the American states will or can give us in return 
more than what we of course shall have. No treaty can be made with the American states that can be binding on the 
whole of them. The Act of Confederation does not enable Congress to form more than general treaties." — Sheffield's 
Observations on the Commerce of the Ainericam States, London, 1783. 

' The estimation in which the League was held by the British government may be inferred by an inquiry of the Duke 
of Dorset, in reply to a letter from Messrs. Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson, on the subject of a commercial treaty, in 
March, 1785. His grace inquired " whether they were commissioned by Congress or their respective states, for it ap- 
peared to him that each state was determined to mmutge its own matters in its own way." It could not he expected that 
England would be in haste to form any important commercial relations with a government so uncertain in its charac- 
ter, for a league of independent governments was liable to dissolution at any moment. 

3 July, 1783. The British Privy Council consists of an indefinite number of gentlemen, chosen by the sovereign, and 
having no direct connection with the Cabinet ministers. The sovereign may, under the advice of this council, issue 
orders or proclamations, which, if not contrary to existing laws, are binding upon the subjects. These are for tempo- 
rary purposes, and are called Orders in Council. 

1 See Journal of Congress, April 30, 1784. 



24 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



— : ~ TT"! Tta TiiBBnliition threatened. Bxcaee for Dissatisfaction. 

Weakness of the new Government made manifest. Its .Uissomiion inreaieneu. 




plenipotentiary, to arrange all matters in dispute. 

But Mr. Adams could accomplish little. Indeed his mission was almost fruitless. He 
found the temper of the British people, from the peasant up to the monarch cold it not 
positively hostile, toward the United States. He was never insulted, yet the chilliness 
of the social atmosphere, and the studied neglect of his official representations, often 
excited hot indignation in his bosom. But his government was so weak and powerless 
that he was compelled to bite his lips in silence. When he proposed to have the naviga- 
tion and trade between all the dominions of the British crown and all the territones 
of the United States placed upon a basis of perfect and liberal reciprocity, the offer was 
not only rejected with scorn, but the minister was given to understand that no other 
would be entertained by the British government. When he recommended his own 
government to pass countervailing navigation laws for the benefit of American com- 
merce, he was met with the fact that it possessed no power to do so. At length, be- 
lieving his mission to be useless, and the British government steadily refusing to send 
a minister to the United States, he asked and received permission to return home. 

Meanwhile matters were growing infinitely worse in the United States, The Con- 
gress had become absolutely powerless, and almost a by- word among the people. The 
states had assumed the attitude of sovereign, each for itself; and their interests were 
too diversified, and in some instances too antagonistic, to allow them to work in har- 
mony for the general good. The League was on the point of dissolution, and the fair 
.fabric for the dwelling of liberty, reared by Washington and his compatriots, was tot 
tering to its fall. The idea of forming two or three distinct confederacies took posses- 
sion of the public mind. Western North Carolina revolted, and the new State of 
Franklin,^ formed by the insurgents, endured several months. A portion of South- 
western Virginia sympathized in the movement. Insurrection against the authorities 
of Pennsylvania appeared in the Wyoming Valley.^ A Convention deliberated at Port- 
land on the expediency of erecting the Territory of Maine into an independent state.^ 
An armed mob surrounded the New Hampshire Legislature, demanding a remission of 
taxes ;* and in Massachusetts, Daniel Shays, who had been a.captain in the Continental 
army, placed himself at the head of a large body of armed insurgents, and defied thf 
government of that state.^ There was resistance to taxation every where, and disre 
spect for law became the rule and not the exception. 

There was reason for this state of things. The exhaustion of the people was grea1 
on account of the war, and poverty was wide-spread. The farmer found no remunera 
tive market for his produce, and domestic manufactures were depressed by foreigr 
competition.' Debt weighed down all classes, and made them feel that the burdei 

^ Against Great Britain it was charged that slaves had been carried away by her military and naval commanders suh 
sequent to the signing of the treaty, and on their departure from the country.* It was also complained that the Westeri 
military posts had not been surrendered to the United States according to Article VII. of the treaty. Against the Unitei 
States It was charged that legal impediments had been interposed to prevent the collection of debts due British mei 
chants by Americans, and that the stipulations concerning the property of Loyalists, found in Articles V. and VI. of th 
treaty, had not been coniplied vfith. Thesecriminations and recriminations were fair, for it has been justly remarked 
" America could not, and Great Britain would not, because America did not, execute the treaty."— Life and Works ofjoh 
Ada/ms^ i., 424. 

2 See Eamsey'B History of Tennessee; Harper's Magazine for March, 1862. 

3 See Lossiug's Field^Book of the RevolvMon. * See Williamson's History of Maine. 

* See Coolidge and Mansfield's History of New Hampshire. 

* See Bradford's History of Massachusetts ; Harper's Magazine for April, 1862. 

' The idea was prevalent, at the close of the war, that the United States ought to be an exclnsiyely agricultural natioi 
and that the old policy of purchasing all fabrics in Europe, to be paid for by the productions of the soil would be th 
wiser one. Acting upon the belief that this would be the policy of the new government, the merchants imported largeh 
and, there being very little duty to be paid, domestic manufactures could not compete with those of Great Britain. Th 
fallacy of the idea that exports would pay for the imports was soon made manifest, and almost universal bankraptc 

• See Article VII. of the treaty. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 25 

WaeUngton'e Views of Public Affairs. His Suggestions, and those of Alexander Hamilton. Propositions of the latter. 

which the tax-gatherer would lay upon them would be the " feather" that would " break 
the camel's back." There was doubt, and confusion, and perplexity on every side ; 
and the very air seemed thick with forebodings of evil. Society appeared to be about 
to dissolve into its original elements. 

Patriots — ^men who had labored for the establishment of a wise government for a 
free people— were heart-sick. " lUiberality, jealousy, and local policy mix too much in all 
our public councils for the good government of the Union," wrote Washington. " The 
Confederation appears to me to be little better than a shadow without the substance, 
and Congress a nugatory body, their ordinances being little attended to. To me it is 
a solecism in politics ; indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary things in nature, that 
we should confederate as a nation, and yet be afraid to give the rulers of that nation 
(who are the creatures of our own making, appointed for a limited and short duration, 
and who are amenable for every action, and may be recalled at any moment, and are 
subject to all the evils they may be instrumental in producing) sufficient powers to 
order and direct the affairs of the same. By such policy as this the wheels of govern- 
ment are clogged, and our brightest prospects, and that high expectation which was 
entertained of us by the wondering world, are turned into astonishment; and from the 
high ground on which we stood we are descending into the vale of confusion and dark- 
ness. 

" That we have it in our power to become one of the most respectable nations upoii 
earth, admits, in my humble opinion, of no doubt, if we would but pursue a wise, just, 
and liberal policy toward one another, and keep good faith with the rest of the world. 
That our resources are ample and increasing, none can deny ; but while they are grudg- 
ingly applied, or not applied at all, we give a vital stab to public faith, and shall sink, 
in the eyes of Europe, into contempt."' 

Other patriots uttered similar sentiments ; and there was a feverish anxiety in the 
]iublic mind concerning the future, destructive of all confidence, and ruinous to entei"- 
prises of every kind. Already grave discussions on the subject had occurred in the 
library at Mount Vernon, during which Washington had suggested the idea of a con- 
janctioh of the several states in arrangements of a commercial nature, over which the 
Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, had no control. The suggestion was 
luminous. It beamed out upon the surrounding darkness like a ray of morning light. 
It was the herald and harbinger of future important action — the key-note to a loud 
trumpet-call for the wise men of the nation to save the tottering republic. It was the 
electric fire that ran along the paralyzed nerves of the nation, and quickened into action 
a broader statesmanship, like that displayed by the youthful Hamilton, who, three or 
four years before, had induced the Legislature of New York to recomiflend the " assem- 
bling of a general Convention of the United States, specially authorized to revise and 
amend the Confederation, reserving the right to the respective Legislatures to ratify 
their determination."^ 

occurred among the importing merchants. The imports from Great Britain during the years 1784 and 1785 amounted 
in value to $30,000,000, while the exports thither did not exceed $9,000,000. 

■ Letter to James Warren, October 7, 1785. 

2 So early as 1780, Alexander Hamilton, then only twenty-three years of age, thoroughly analyzed the defects of the 
Articles of Confederation, in a long letter to James Duane, member of Congress from New York. It was dated, "Lib- 
erty Pole, September 3, 1780." He discussed the subject at great length, gave an outline sketch of a Federal Constitu- 
tion, and suggested the calling of a Convention to frame such a system of government.* During the following year he 
published in the Nmo York Packet, printed at Pishkill, Duchess County, a series of papers under the title of The Corwti- 
tutionaliat, which were devoted chiefly to the discussion of the defects in the Articles of Confederation. They excited 
great local interest ; and Hamilton succeeded, in the summer of 1782, in having the subject brought before the Legisla- 
ture of the State of New York while in session at Poughkeepsie. It was favorably received, and on Sunday, the 21st of 
July, that body passed a series of resolutions, in the last of which occurred the sentence above quoted. 

On the 1st of April, 1783, Hamilton, In a debate in Congress, expressed an earnest desire for a general Convention, 
and the subject was much talked of among the members of Congress' in 1784. In the same year Thomas Paiup and 
Pelatiah Webster wrote on that subject. In the spring of 1784, Noah Webster, the lexicographer, in a pamphlet which 
he says he " took the pains to carry in person to General Washington," suggested a "new system of government, which 

• See The Works o/ Alexander Bamiltan, i., 150. 



26 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



C'unveution of Representatives of the States at Anuapolis and Philadelphia. 



This recommendation had been seriously pondered by thoughtful men throughout 
the League, but the public authorities were not then ready to adopt it. Washington's 
proposition for a commercial Convention was favorably received, and in September, the 
= September 11, following year," five states were represented by delegates in such Conven- 
1'^*- tion, held at Annapolis, in Maryland.' Already a desire had been ex- 

pressed in many parts of the country for a Convention having a broader field of consid- 
eration than commerce., only one of the elements of a nation's prosperity. So thought 
and felt members of the Convention at Annapolis — a Convention that proved a failure 
in a degree, inasmuch as only five of the thirteen states were represented. They ad- 
journed after a brief session, first recommending the several states to call another Con- 
vention in May following; and performing the momentous service of preparing a letter 
to the General Congress, in which the defects of the Articles of Confederation were set 
forth. 

In Febru.ary following, the Congress took the proceedings of the Convention into 
consideration, and recommended a meeting of delegates from the several states, to be 
held at Philadelphia on the second Monday in the ensuing May; not, however, for the 
regulation of commerce, but really for the reconstruction of the national govern- 
ment.^ 

On the 4th of July, 1V76, a Congress of 
representatives of thirteen colonies met in 
the great room of the State House in Phila- 
delphia, since known as Independence Hall, 
and declared those colonies free and inde- 
pendent states. On Monday, the 14th of 
May, 1787, a Congress of representatives 
of the same colonies, then become free and 
independent states, assembled in the same 
hall for the purpose of establishing the va- 
lidity and power of that declaration, by dis- 
solving the inefiicient political League of 
the states, and constituting the inhabitants 
of all the states one great and indissoluble 
nation. 

There were few delegates present on the 
appointed day of meeting ; and it was not 
until the 25th that representatives from 
seven states (the prescribed quorum) ap- 
^^. . . peared. Then Washington, a delegate from 

Virginia, was chosen president of the Convention, and William Jackson secretary.s On 




WILLIAM JAOKbON. 



should act not on tluMtshut Oirecihj „n mmvichmU, and vest in Congress full power to carry its laws Into effect " 
Th,B pamphlet is entit ed, " Sfeetehes of American Policy." Thus thinking men all lamented the weatae. of thften- 

1 The following are the names of the representatives : Kao I'M-fc- Alexander Hamilton Ptrhert -Rp^c^t, ^' r 
Abraham Clarke. William C. Houston ; P™«,„fe„»<^Tenche Coxe, J^r^lll^T^DtafaJtoZ.^^T^^^ 
Dickmson, Richard Bassett ; Virgmia^mmmi Randolph, James Madison, Jr., St George Tnckei ° ' 

delgaSstr M^ssLhi^e^'rwaslst'owT:*'^ '''' °'^^'™"^' "'^^ ^^' ™^°'""°° <-'''* ^'^ ™^-'««^ ^^ "le 
" R'l^M, That ill the opinion of Congress it is expedient that, on the second Monday in May next a Cnnvpntinn nf 
Delegates, who shall have been appointed by the several states, be held at Philadelphia, for he s'fe and ex, res°° °/ 
pose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and reporting to Congress and the severa LeJisInfi^res .^,.h u t? 
and provisions therein as shall, when agreed to in Congres's and confirmed by the s ates reader the Felrn?/;?' 
tion adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union" '^"'''*" ^onstitu- 

3 William Jackson was an eminent patriot, and one of Washington's most intimate personal friends Tr„ „ ♦ a ,^ 
Continental army at the age of sixteen years, and served his ctnntry faithfully duri^ the whole wnr fl 7 *i' 
ence. He became an aid to the commander-in-chief with the rank of miioi- T nlT^i i? ^ar for independ- 

Colonel John Laurens, on a diplomatic mission to Franie At fbe close onhe ir "e visited aZT'md'" If" "' 
turn was appointed, on the nomination of Washington, secretary to the Convention that formed the NVirouarConstt- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 27 



■William Jackson and EdrnuDd Eandolph. Members of the Convention. > Attitude of Rhode Island. 

the 28th, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia,' at the request of his colleagues, opened the 
business of the Convention in a carefully considered speech, in which he pointed out 
the serious defects in the Articles of Confederation, illustrated their utter inadequacy 
to secure the dignity, peace, and safety of the republic, and asserted the absolute neces- 
sity of a more energetic government. At the close of his speech he oifered to the Con- 
vention fifteen resolutions, in which were embodied the leading principles whereon to 
form a new government according to his views. 

I do not propose to consider in detail, nor even in a synoptical manner, the proceed- 
ings of that Convention, which occupied several hours each day for four months. I will 
merely direct attention to the really great men who composed it, and the measures 
that were adopted, and leave the reader to seek in other sources the interesting infor- 
mation concerning the events in the daily sessions of that remarkable congress of wise 
men, whose efforts bore noble fruit for the political sustenance of mankind.- 

The venerable Dr. Franklin, then near the close of a long and useful life, was the 
most conspicuous member of that Convention next to Washington. Thirty-three years 
before he had elaborated a plan of union for the colonies, to which neither the crown 
nor the provinces would listen f now he came to revive that plan, with full hope of 
success. Johnson, Rutledge, and Dickinson had been members of the Stamp-act Con- 

tution. His private record of the proceedings and debates is in the hands 
of his family. He became the private secretary of President Washington, 
and accompanied him on his tonr through the Southern States in 1791. 
He held the office of sin-veyor of the port of Philadelphia and inspector of 
customs there until removed, for political causes, by Mr. Jefferson. He 
then started a daily newspaper, called "The Political and Commercial Eeg- 
ister." 

Major Jackson lived a life of unsullied honor, and at his death was buried 
in Christ Church yard, on Fifth Street, Philadelphia. A plain slab about 
three feet high marks the spot, and bears the following inscription : "Sacred 
to the memory of Major William Jackson : born March the 9th, 1T59 ; depart- 
ed this life December the ITth, 18'2S. Also to Klizabeth Willing, his relict: 
bom March the 2Tth, 1763 ; departed this life August the 6th, 185S." Mrs. 
Jackson was ninety years of age at the time of her death. 

I am indebted to Miss Ann Willing Jackson, daughter of Major .Jackson, 
for the portrait given on the preceding page. It is copied from a miniature 
in her possession, painted by Trumbull. She also has a silhouette profile 
of her father, cut by Mrs. Mayo, of Eichmond, Virginia, the mother of the 
late Mrs. General Wintield Scott. 

The signature of Secretary Jackson is with those of the other signers of j vckbo^ s mu.nu.ment. 

the Constitution, on page 32. 

1 Edmund Randolph was a son of an attorney general of Virginia before the Revolution. He was an eminent law- 
yer, and a wann patriot throughout the old war for independence. He was a member of the Continental Congress from 
1779 until 17S2. He was active in the Convention that formed the Constitution. He was elected Governor of Virginia 
in 178S, and Washington chose him for his first attorney general of the United States in 1789. He was secretary of state 
in 1794, but, in consequence of being engaged in an intrigue with the French minister, he retired from public life. He 
died in December, 1813. 

2 Rhode Island was not represented in the Convention. Ignorant and unprincipled men happened to control the 
Assembly of the state at that time, and they refused to elect delegates to the Convention. But some of the best and 
most influential men in Rhode Island joined in sending a letter to the Convention, in which they expressed their cordial 
sympathy with the objects of the movement, and promised their acquiescence in whatsoever measures the majority 
might adopt. The following were the names of the delegates from the several states ; 

New Hampshire. — John Langdon, John Pickering, Nicholas Oilman, and Benjamin West. 

Massachmetts.—Fmncis Dana, Elbridge Gerry, Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, and Caleb Strong. 

Comi^cticiit. — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman, and Oliver Ellsworth. 

Neio York, — Robert Yates, John Lansing, Jr., and Alexander Hamilton. 

A'eiv Jersey.— DnYid Brearley, William Churchill Houston, William Paterson, John Neilson, William Livingston, Abra- 
ham Clark, and Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania.— Thomas MifHin, Robert Morris, George CljTner, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Fitzsimmons, James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris, and Benjamin Franklin. 

Delaware.-QeoTge Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, and Jacob Brown. 

Maryland.— J a.mes M'Henry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll, John Francis Mercer, and Luther Martin. 

Virginia.— George Washington, Patrick Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison, Jr., George Mason, 
and George Wythe. Patrick Ilenry having declined his appointment, James M'Clure was nominated to supply his place. 

Korth C«ro?m«.— Richard Caswell, Alexander Martin, William Richardson Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Willie 
Jones. Richard Caswell having resigned, William Blount was appointed as deputy in his place. Willie Jones having 
also declined his appointment, his place was supplied by Hugh Williamson. , 

South Carolina.— John Eutledge, Charles Pinckney, Charles C. Pinckney, and Pierce Butler. 

Oeorgia.—Wmum Few, Abraham Baldwin, William Pierce, GeorgeWalton.William Houston, and Nathaniel Pendleton. 

s " The Assemblies did not adopt it," said Franklin, "as they all thought there was too much prerogatioe in it; and in 
England it was judged to have too much of the demoa'atic." 




PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Leading Members of the CouventioD. Its Objects. Its ProeeedingB. Gouvemeur Morris, 

gress in 1705, and the last two had been compatriots of Washington in the Congress 
of l'i'74. Livingston, Sherman, Read, and Wythe had shared the same honors. The 
last two, with Franklin, Sherman, Gerry, Clymer, Morris, and Wilson, had signed the 
Declaration of Independence. The Continental army was represented by Washington, 
Mifflin, Charlejs Cotesworth Pinckney, and Hamilton. The younger members, who had 
become conspicuous in public life after the Declaration of Independence, were Hamilton, 
Madison, and Edmund Randolph. The latter was then Governor of Virginia, liaving suc- 
ceeded Patrick Henry, the "trumpet of sedition" when the states were British provinces. 
The Convention was marked by long and warm debates, and with dignity suited to 
the occasion. The most prominent speakers were King, Gerry, and Gorham, of Massa- 
chusetts; Hamilton and Lansing, of New York ; Ellsworth, Johnson, and Sherman, of 
Connecticut ; Paterson, of New Jersey ; Franklin, Wilson, and Morris, of Pennsylvania ; 
Dickinson, of Delaware ; Martin, of Maryland ; Randolph, Mason, and Madison, of Vir- 
ginia; Williamson, of North Carolina, and the Pinckneys, of South Carolina. 

Such were the men, all conspicuous in the history of the republic, who assembled for 
the purpose of laying the broad foundations of a nation. Tliey had scarcely a prece- 
dent in history for their guide. The great political maxim established by the Revolu- 
tion was, that the original residence of all human sovereignty is in the people : it was 
for these founders of a great state to parcel out from the several commonwealths of 
which the new nation was composed, so much of their restricted power as the peo- 
ple of the several states should be willing to dismiss from their local political insti- 
tutions, in making a strong and harmonious republic that should be at the same time 
harmless toward reserved state rights. This was the great jwoblem to be solved. "At 
that time," says a recent writer, " the world had witnessed no such spectacle as that of 
the deputies of a nation, chosen by the free action of great communities, and assembled 
for the purpose of thoroughly reforming its Constitution, by the exercise and with the 
authority of the national will. All that had been done, both in ancient and in modern 
times, in forming, moulding, or modifying constitutions of government, bore little re- 
semblance to the present undertaking of the states of America. Neither amono- the 
Greeks nor the Romans was there a precedent, and scarcely an analogy."i 

Randoljih suggested the chief business of the Convention in his proposition "that a 
N^ATiONAL government ought to be est.ablished, consisting of a supreme leo-islative ex- 
ecutive, and judiciary." Upon this broad proposition all future action was'ba.sed ; 'and 
they had not proceeded far before it was clearly perceived that the Articles of Confed- 
eration were too radically defective to be the basis of a stable government. Tlierefbre 
instead of trying to amend them, the Convention went diligently at work to form an 

entirely new Constitution. In this they made slow 
progress, opinions were so conflicting. Plans and 
amendments were ofi'ered, and freely discussed. Day 
after day, and week after week, the debates contin- 
ued, sometimes with great courtesy, and sometimes 
with great acrimony, until the 10th of September, 
when all plans and amendments wliich had been 
adopted by the Convention were placed in the hands 
of a committee for revision and arrangement.^ Bv 

^.^^^ //^6///0 They placed the matter in the hanks of Gon^AfnTnt ,^ o fhZ: 

pose. In language and general arran^empiit ti,„-NT ,"'"f'"r ine pur- 
was the work of that eminent ma" • ° ' ' ^''"°°'" Constitution 





• Gomerneur Morris was bom near the Westchester shore of the Harlem -S^^^^^T^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ZT. : 

1-52, He was educated at King's (now Columbia) College, in the city of New Y^^rstldTei Lw ^ntr'tbe emS 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 29 



Signing the Constitution. Hesitation on tlie part of some. Patriotic Course of Franklin, Hamilton, and othere. 

this committee a Constitution was reported to the Convention. It was taken up and 
considered clause by clause, discussed, slightly amended, and then engrossed. On 
the 15th it was agreed to by the delegates of all the states present. On the 11th a fair 
copy on parchment was brought in to receive the signatures of the members — an act 
far more important in all its bearings than the signing of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, eleven years before.' " 

In the performance of that act, as in the former, there was some hesitation on the 
part of a few. There had been serious differences of opinion during the whole session 
— so serious that at times there seemed a probability that the Convention would be an 
utter failure. There were still serious differences of opinion when the instrument was 
adopted, and delicate questions arose about signing it. A large majority of the mem- 
bers wished it to go forth to the people, not only as the act of the Convention collect- 
ively, but with the individual sanction and signature of each delegate. This was the 
desire of Dr. Franklin, and, with pleasant words, he endeavored to allay all irritation 
and bring about such a result. It was finally agreed, on the suggestion of Gouverneur 
Morris, that it might be signed, without implying personal sanction, in these closing 
words : " Done by consent of the states present. In testimony whereof, we have sub- 
scribed," etc. 
' Hamilton patriotically seconded the efforts of Franklin, notwithstanding the instru- 
ment did not have his approval, because it did not give power enough to the national 
government. " No man's ideas," he said, " are more remote from the plan than my 
own ; but is it possible to deliberate between anarchy and confusion on one side, and 
the chance of good on the other?" 

The appeals of Franklin and Hamilton, and the example of Madison and Pinckney, 
secured the signatures of several dissatisfied members ; and all present, excepting 
Mason and Randolph, of Virginia,^ and Gerry, of Massachusetts,^ signed the Constitu- 
tion.* While this important work was in pi'ogress, Franklin looked toward the chair 
occupied by "Washington, at the back of which a sun was painted, and observed, "I 
have often and often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of ray hopes and 
fears as to its issue, looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell 
whether it was rising or setting : at length I have the happiness to know that it is a 
rising sun." 

The Convention, by a carefully worded resolution, recommended the Congress to lay 
the new Constitution before the joeopfo (not the states), and ask them, the source of aU 

William Smith, of that city, and was licensed to practice in 1T71. He was an active patriot during the war, serving in 
the Continental Congress, on committees of safety, etc. He resided some time in Philadelphia. He was sent abroad 
on a diplomatic mission, and resided for a while in Paris. He afterward went to London on public business, and was 
finally appointed minister plenipotentiary at the French Court. He returned to America in 1798, was elected to the 
Senate of the TJnited States, and was active in public and private life until his death in 1816. 

1 For a ftiU account in detail of all the proceedings in relation to the Constitution, see the HUtmy of the Origin, Forma- 
tion, and Adoption of the Constitution of the United Stales, with Notices of its Principal Framers, by George Ticknor Curtis, 
in two volumes : New York, Harper & Brothers. 

' George Mason was Washington's neighbor and early personal friend. He was a statesman of the first order among 
those of his associates in Virginia, and a thorough republican. He was the framer of the Constitution of Virginia, and 
was active in the Convention that formed the National Constitution. He was so imbued with the state pride for which 
Virginians have always been noted, that he would not agree to that Constitution because it did not recognize individual 
state sovereignty — the very rock on which the new republic was then in danger of being wrecked. In conjunction with 
Patrick Henry, he opposed its adoption in the Virginia Convention, professing to believe that it would be the instru- 
ment for converting the government into a monarchy. He died at his seat on the Potomac (Gunston Hall) in the 
autumn of 1792, at the age of sixty-seven years. 

3 We shall have occasion to consider the public character of Mr. Gerry hereafter. He was Vice-President of the 
United States in 1S12. 

* The names of the delegates have been given in note 2, page 27. The names of those who signed the Constitution 
are given in our /ac-simife^ of their signatures, which have been engraved from the original parchment in the State De- 
partment at Washington. It T^ill be seen that Alexander HamiltonV name stands alone. His colleagues from New 
York (Yates and Lansing) had left the Convention in disgust on the Ist of July, and New York was considered not 
officially represented. Bat Hamilton, who had not swei-ved ftom duty, was there. The weight of his name was im- 
portant, and in the place that should have been filled with the names of delegates from his state was recited, " Mr. Ham- 
ilton, of New York." It will be observed that the hand-writing of all seems defective, the lines appearing irregular. 
This is owing to the parchment on which their names are vreitten, which did not receive the ink as freely as paper 
would have done. These irregularities" have all been carefully copied, so as to give a perfect /oc-simifo of the originals. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Signatures to the National Constitution. 














yicQe/i^k/Ae.^7^^^^^'^'^^^-^^ 





^t^<lCCt^JPt^^^'./ 



^ 








'^^ 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 



31 



Besolntiona sent to the State Legislatures. 



Signatures to the National Constitution. 



sovereignty, to ratify or reject it. The views of the great majority of the members of 
Congress were concurrent, and on the 28th of September that body 

'■'■ Mesolved unanimously, Tha,t the said report [of the Convention to the Congress], 
with the resolutions and letters accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several 











/i^/^f^k 



/J ' — ^^^^^^^^^^^ — '•^^. 




^€^^3^^^ 



Wi^^,v-<^ 



^nnrt. s^^^^ _ 



/l/fr\.^^ ,/fi^x^eCe^t*^ 



i<7 



32 



PICTOKIAL EIELD-BOOK 



Conventions of the People. 



The rederalist. 



Signatures to the National Constitatiot 



Legislatures, in order to he submitted to a Convention. of Delegates chosen in each stat 
BY THE PEOPLE THEKBOF, in couformity to the resolves of .the Convention made anc 
provided in that case." 

Conventions ofihepeqple were accordirfgly held in the^several states to consider th( 
Constitution. Long and stirring debates occurred in these Conventions, and at ever] 
public gathering and private hearth-stone in the land. Hamilton, Madison, Jay, anc 
others fed the public understanding with able essays on government and in favor oi 
the new -Constitution.^ That instrument was read and discussed every where. But i1 







^/t^^^^cit^^T^^^-tr^'w 








e<^ 







SIGNATTJEES TO THE OOSBTITTTTION. 



f these Hamilton wrote sixtyflve. The first nnmber, written by Hamilton in the cibtaof I^n^Kv^X'ta; 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 33 



Eatiflcatlon of the Constitution. Opposition to it. The family and state Pride of the Virginians. 

was nine months after its adoption by the Convention, before the people of nine states 
ratified it — that number being necessary to make it the organic law of th^ land. That 
ninth state was New Hampshire, and the momentous act of the people occurred on the 
21st of June, 1788. The General Congress was then in session, and, on the 2d of July, 
adopted measures "for putting the said Constitution into operation." They appointed 
the first Wednesday of the ensuing March as the day when the functions of the new 
government should commence their action. The people in the states that had ratified 
the Constitution chose their presidential electors in compliance with its provisions. 
These met on the first Wednesday in February, 1789, and elected George Washington 
chief magistrate of the new republic, and John Adams Vice-President. Washington 
was inaugurated on the 30th of April, and before the close of the year the inhabitants 
of all the states but one had ratified the National Constitution. 1 

After earnest deliberation — after the free discussion of every principle of govern- 
ment involving state rights and state sovei-ei^nty^-after a careful comparison of the 
advantages and disadvantages of a consolidated nation and the confederacy they had 
fairly tried, it was solemnly declared that "We, the People of the United States, in 
order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity, 
provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings 
of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution 
for the United States of America."^ 

published on the 27th of October, 17S7, a little more than a month after the aajoumment of the National Convention. 
They were published four times a week in a New York daily paper. Of these essays Washington wrote to Hamilton 
in Angnst, 17S8 : " When the transient circumstances and fugitive performances which attend this crisis shall have dis- 
appeared, that work IThe Federalisfi will merit the notice of posterity, because in it are candidly and ably discussed the 
principles of freedom and the topics of government, which vrill be always interesting to mankMd, so long as they shall 
be connected in civil society." 

1 That state was Ehode Island, which held out until the spring of 1790. The people in the several states ratified the 
Constitution in the following order: Detowore, December 7, 1787 j Pennsylvania, December 12, 1787 ; New Jersey, De- 
cember 18, 1787 ; Georgia, January 2, 1788 ; Connecticut, January 9, 1788 ; Massachusetts, February 6, 1788 ; Maryland, 
April 28, 178S ; South Carolina, May 23, 1788 ; New Hampshire; June 21, 1788 ; Virginia, June 26, 1788 ; New Tork, July 
20, 1788 ; North Carolina, November 21, 1788 ; Ehode Island, May 29, 1790. During the recess of Congress, in the au- 
tumn of 1789, President Washington visited the New England States. As Ehode Island yet remained a kind of foreign 
state, he avoided it. 

' The Constitution was violently assailed by the " State Eights" or state sovereignty men— men who regarded alle- 
giance to a state as paramount to that due to the national government. Their chief objection was that it destroyed (as 
it was intended to do) the alleged sovereignty of the several states, and constituted a con.solidated nation. In Virginia, 
especially, such a result was looked upon by the proud aristocracy with great disfavor. Virginia was then the ruling 
state in the League, and her political power was swayed by a few families. These were exceedingly proud, and, down 
to the breaking out of the war for independence, they looked with disdain upon the people of the other colonies.* This 
feeling was somewhat modified by the operations of the war, and new- men were found at the helm of the vessel of state. 
Yet much of the old pride remained, and the leading Virginians, with a few honorable exceptions, could not bear the 
thought of having the " Old Dominion," as they were proud to call the commonwealth, stripped of her independent 
sovereignty. The new leaders seized upon this dominant state pride and made it subservient to their wishes. Patrick 
Henry violently denounced the Constitution because of its destructive effects upon state sovereignty. He clearly under- 
stood its character when, with a loud voice, in the Virginia Convention, he demanded, " Who authorized the Convention 
to speak the language ' We, the people,' instead of ' We, the states V Even from that illustnous man who saved us by his 
valor, I would have a reason for his conduct." George Mason, in the same Convention, denounced the Constitution be- 
cause, as he asserted, it "changed the confederation of states into a consolidation, and would annihilate the state gov- 
ernments." 

The opposition in several other states was very powerful, for various reasons, and the Constitution and the friends of 
the Constitution were assailed with the most outrageous misrepresentations. Ofthe opponents in Virginia Washington 
wrote : " Their strength, as well as those ofthe same class in other states, seems to lie in misrepresentation, and a desire 
to inflame the passions and alarm the fears by noisy declamation, rather than to convince the understanding by sound 
ar"Timents, or fair and impartial statements. Bafiled in their attacks upon the Constitution, they have attempted to vil- 
ify and debase the characters who formed it, but I trust they will not succeed." 

The papers, by Colonel Byrd (who was a member of the Colonial Council), above referred to, afford a glimpse of the 
sense of superiority to all the other colonists entertained by the leading families in Virginia, which was always the 
bane of progress and national feeling, and made large numbers ofthe politicians of that state disunionists ft-om the be- 
ginning. In these papers the New Englanders were spoken of as " a puritanical sect, with pharisaicaLpeculiarities in 
their worship and behavior." Trade was an unfit calling, and a trade eluding laws, though pronounced void, was justly 
regarded as demoralizing. Such, they charged, was much ofthe trade ofthe Eastern provinces. The dwellers of New 
Tork had not more favor. The Dutch were also traders— a "slippery people"— intruders on Virginia^encroachers and 
reformers. New Jersey, in a religious aspect, was not less obnoxious, peopled by "a swarm of Scots Quakers, who 
were not tolerated to exercise the gifts of the spirit in their own country ;" by " Anabaptists," too, and some " Swedes." 
The merits of Penn were equivocal— he was not immaculate ; but, though " Quakers had flocked to Pennsylvania in 
shoals " they had the virtues of " dilligeuce and frugality," and the " prudence" which became non-combatants. Mary- 

• See Byrd's Westmer Papers. 
C 



34 PICTOEIAE I'lELD-BOOK 

Dlssolntion of the Continental Congress. Its Character, and that of the new OoTemment 

"With the birth of the nation on the 4th of March, 1789, the Continental Congress 
the representative of the League, expired. Its history is one of the most remarkabl( 
on record. It was first an almost spontaneous gathering of patriotic men, chosen bj 
their fellow-citizens in a time of great perplexity, to consult upon the public good 
They represented different provinces extending a thousand miles along the Atlantic 
coast, with interests as diversified as the climate and geography. With boldness un 
equaled and faith unexampled, they snatched the sceptre of rule over a vast dominioE 
from imperial England, of whose monarch they were subjects, and assumed the func- 
tions of sovereignty by creating armies, issuing bills of credit, declaring the provinces 
free and independent states, negotiating treaties with foreign governments, and, finally, 
after eight long years of struggle, wringing from their former .sovereign his acknowl- 
edgment of the independence of the states which they represented. The career of the 
Congress was meteor-like, and astonished the world with its brilliancy. It was also 
short. Like a half-developed giant exhausted by mighty efforts, it first exhibited lassi- 
tude, then decrepitude, and at last hopeless decay. Poor and weak, its services forgot- 
ten by those who should have been grateful for them, it lost the respeqt of all mankind, 
and died of political marasmus. 

Out of its remains, phcenix-like, and in full vigor and grand proportions, arose a 
nation whose existence had been decreed by the will of true sovereignty — thk people 
—and whose perpetuity depends upon that will. It immediately arrested the profound 
attention of the civilized world. It was seen that its commerce, diplomacy, and dignity 
were no longer exposed to neglect by thirteen distinct and clashing legislative iDodies, 
but were guarded by a central power of wonderful energy. The prophecy of Bishop 
Berkeley was on the eve of fulfillment." England, France, Spain, and Holland placed 
their representatives at the seat of the new government, and the world acknowledged 
that the new-born- nation was a power— positive, tangible, indubitable. 

J^.^Tfi^^'!?!?™^,!™^ '^r^*' '^\^fFF\^°' '^^°'^ "England was too hot," and to whom, as a neighbor, Virginia 
w^ ah tie cold. The Carolmas left " derelict by the French and Sapaniards." were the regions of pinis and serpents 
-dismal m their swamps, and deadly m their malaria. "Thns, in the eyes of her favored few," says a late writer, 

US^T,'. .r'^-'' "^ f"' l'^ Y°^^-" ^°' '^ '"''"« illustration of this B^-biect, see BisLry ^ the RepuUic^ 
the mm states o/Aw^rtca, as traeedzn the Writinffs of AUxcmd^ Hamilton ami his Contemporaries, by John C. HamUton. 
A ,^« .^!?T ""'"■ ^ A .''^^s.*"«°to<= mission, Bishop Berkeley wrote his six " Verses on the Prospect of Planting 
quoted lin^^^ " ^'"^™*' "■ ^"* >"= i"^^^^^ «>« '^^^S g^^ataess of the New World, and employed the oft- 
"Westward the course of empire takes its way." 




OF THE WAE OF 1812. 35 



Pounaations of Government laid by the People. They comprehend the Value of the Great WUaemeSB, 




CHAPTER II. 

" Old burial-places, once eacred, are plundered, 

And thickly with bones is the fallow field strown 5 
The bond of confederate tribes has been sundered— 

The long council hall of the brave oyerthrown. 
The Sac and Miami bowmen no longer 

Preserve at the door-posts unslumbering guard ; 
We fought, but the pale-browed invaders were stronger; 

Our knife-blades too blunt, and their bosoms too, hard." 

W. H. C. HOSMER. 

^E have seen the development of weak, isolated commonwealths 
into a powerful, consolidated nation, and are now to observe 
the growth of that nation in resources and strength until, by 
an exhibition of its powers in vindication of its rights before 
the -world, it became absolutely independent, and was re- 
spected accordingly. 

That assertion and vindication were made by the moral 
forces of legislation and the patriotism of the people, co- 
working with the material forces of army and navy. In 
this view is involved the whole drama of the contest known 
in history as the War of 1812, or the Second Struggle for 
Independence — a drama, many of whose characters and inci- 
dents appear upon the stage simultaneously with the persons and events exhibited in 
the preceding chapter. Looking back from the summer of 1812, when war against 
Great Britain was formally declared, the causes of the conflict appear both remote and 
near. The war actually began years before the President proclaimed the appeal to 
arras. 

While statesmen and politicians were arranging the machinery of government, the 
people were laying broad and deep the visible foundations of the state, in the estab- 
lishment of material interests and the shaping of institutions consonant with the new 
order of things, and essential to social and political prosperity. They had already be- 
gun to comprehend the hidden resources and immense value of the vast country within 
the treaty limits of the United States westward of the Alleghany Mountains. They 
had already obtained prophetic glimpses of a future civilization that should flourish in 
the fertile regions Watered by the streams whose springs are in those lofty hills that 
stretch, parallel with the Atlantic, from the Lakes almost to the Gulf, across fourteen 
degrees of latitude. Pioneers had gone over the grand hills and sent up the smoke of 
their cabin fires from many a fertile valley irrigated by.the tributaries of the Ohio and 
Mississippi. Already they had learned to regard the Father of Waters as a great aque- 
ous highway for an immense inland commerce soon to be created, and had begun to 
urge the supreme authority of the land to treat with Spain for its free navigation. 
Already peace and friendship with the savage tribes on the remote frontiers of civil- 
ization had been promised by treaties made upon principles of justice and not fashioned 
by the ethics of the sword.' _^^_ 

1 Necessity, if not conscience, recommended this policy, for at the close of the Revolution the " regular army" had been 
reduced to less than seven hundred men, and no officer was retaiiied above the rank of captain. This force was soon 
still farther reduced to twenty-flve men to guard the military stores at Pittsburg, and flfty-flve to perform military duty 
at West Point and other magazines. ,„.,,„.,. 1,. , .. a 

Peace was negotiated vrith most of the tribes which had taken part against the United States in the late war. A 



36 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



In dian Treaties. Anti-alaTery MoTementa. The Ordinance of 178T. Firet Settlements in Ohii 

By treaty with the chief tribes between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes, an 
the cession by Virginiai to the United States of all claims to lands in that region, th 
general government became absolute possessor of a vast country, out of which seven 
flourishing states have since been formed.^ 

While the National Convention was in session at Philadelphia in the summer o 
1181, the Continental Congress, sitting at New York, feeble and dying, with only eigh 
states represented, took up and disposed of in a satisfactory manner a subject secon- 
only in importance to that under discussion in the capital of Pennsylvania. The 
» July 13 adopted,^ by unaninious vote, "An Ordinance for the government of the Tei 

"8T; '; ritory of the United States northwest of the Ohio."^ In anticipation of thi 
action, extensive surveys had been made in the new territory. Soon after the passag 
of the ordinance above mentioned, a sale of five millions of acres, extending along th 
Ohio from the Muskingum to the Sciota, were sold to the " Ohio Company," whicl 
was composed of citizens of New England, many of whom had been officers of the Coil 
tinental army.* A similar sale was made to John Cleve Symmes, of New Jersey, fo 
two millions of acres, in the' rich and beautiful region between the Great and Littl 
Miami Rivers, including the site of Cincinnati. 

These were the first steps taken toward the settlement of the Northwestern Terri 
tory,in which occurred so many of the important events of the War of 1812. Hitherti 
New England emigration had been chiefly to Vermont, Northern New Hampshire, am 
the Territory of Maine. Now it poured, in a vast and continuous stream, into the Ohi- 
country. General Rufus Putnam, at the head of a colony from Massachusetts, founde( 
a settlement^ (the first, of Europeans, in all Ohio, if we except the Moravian mjssionar; 
stations*) at the mouth of the Muskingum River, and named it Marietta, in honor o; 



treaty was conclnded at Port Stanwix (now Eome, New York) in October, 1T84, witli the Six Nations. Another was coi 
eluded at Fort M'Intosh in January, 1785, with the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas, and Ottawas ; and another wit 
the Cherokees, at Hopewell, in November the same year. Dissatisfaction having arisen concerning remuneration. fc 
lands, two new treaties were made at Fort Hannar, on the Muskingum, Ohio, at the beginning of 1789, by which allov 
ances were made for ceded lands. By treaty, the Indian titles to lands extending along the northern bank of the Ohi 
and a considerable distance inland, as far west as the Wabash Eiver, were extinguished. This tract comprised aboi 
seventeen millions of acres. 

1 The deed of cession, signed by Virginia commissioners, with Thomas Jefferson at their head, was executed on th 
fii'st day of March, 1784. It stipulated that the territory ceded should be laid out and formed into states, not less tha 
one hnndred nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square ; that the states so formed should be " distinct repul 
lican, states," and admitted as members of the National Union, having the same rights of sovereignty, etc., as tl 
older states. 

After the cession was executed the Congress referred the matter to a committee, of which Mr. Jefferson was chairmai 
That committee reported an ordinance containing a plan for the government of the whole Western territory north an 
south of the Ohio, from the thirty-flrst degree of north latitude to the northern boundary of the United States, it hein 
supposed that other states owning territory south of the Ohio would follow the example of Virginia. The plan propose 
to divide the great Territory into seventeen states, and among the conditions was the remarkable one " that, after the yef 
ISOO, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of the said states, other than in the punishment c 
crimes whereof the party shall have been daiy convicted.'' This provision did not get the vote of nine states, the nun 
her necessary to adopt it. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with the fonr New England States, voted for i1 
North Carolina was divided ; Delaware and Georgia were unrepresented ; Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina vote 
against it. (See Journal of Congress, April 19, 1784.) After expunging this proviso the report was adopted, but tl 
subject was not definitely acted upon. 

2 Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. 

? This ordinance was reported by a committee, of which Mr. Dane, of Massachusetts, was chairman. It contained M 
JefTerson's anti-slavery proviso, with a clause relative to the rendition of fngitive slaves, similar in form to the one inco 
porated in the National Constitution a few weeks later. 

4 This company was formed in Boston, and Eev. Manasseh Cutler, and Winthrop Sargent were the authorized agen 
'of the association to make the contract with the United States Treasury Board. Among the associates were Genera 
Parsons and Enfns Putnam, of Connecticut ; General Vamum and Commodore Whipple, of Ehode Island ■ General Tu 
per, of Massachusetts, and men of lesser note in public life. 

' 5 Putnam ai^d his party landed on the site of Marietta on the 7tb of April, 1788. The governor of the territory hi 
not yet arrived, so they, established temporary laws for their own government. These were published by being writti 
and nailed to a tree. Eetum J. Meigs, afterward governor of the state, was appointed to administer the laws Sm 
was -the beginning of government in the State of Ohio. 

• 6 These devoted missionaries were the first white inhabitants who took up their abode within the present limits of tl 
State of Ohio. The Eev. John Frederick Post and Eev. John Heckewelder had penetrated the wilderness in this directii 
before the cominencement of the Eevolutlon. Their first visit was as early as 1T61. Others followed, and they esta 
lished three stations, or villages of Indian converts, on the Tuscarawas Eiver, within the limits of the present county 
that name. These were named Schoenbnm, Gnadenhntten, and Salem. The latter was near the present Village of Pc 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



31 



Campus Martius and Fort Washington. 



Miss Heckewelder. 



General St. Clair. 



Maria Antoinette, the queen of Louis the Sixteenth, of France. A stockade fort, called 

Campus Martius, was immediate- _ — _ 

ly commenced, as a protection ^_^r:.^ S^~ ^-^^ 

against the hostile Indians,^ In 
the autumn of the same year a 
party of settlers seated them- 
selves upon Symmes's purchase, 
and founded Cohmibia, near the 
mouth of the Little Miami. Fort 
Washington was soon afterward 
built a short distance below, on 
the site of Cincinnati. 

It has been estimated that with- 
in the years 1788 and 1789, full 
twenty thousand men, women, 
and children went down the Ohio 




CAMPUS UAETIUS. 



in boats, to become settlers on its banks. Since then, how wonderful has been the 
growth of empire beyond the Alleghanies! 

Soon after the organization of the Northwestern Territory, Major General Arthur 
St. Clair,^ an officer in the old French War, and in the Continental army during the 
Revolution, was appointed its governor by the Congress, of which body he was then 
president. He accepted the position with reluctance. "'The office of governor was in 
a great measure forced on me," he said, in a letter to a friend.^ Yet, ever ready to go 
where duty to his country called him, he proceeded to the Territory in the summer of 



Washington. There Hecke- 
welder resided for some tiioe, 
and there his daughter Jo- 
hannaMariawas born, on the 
{)thofApril,1781. She was the 
firstwhite child born in Ohio, 
and isyet living [1367] atBeth- 
lehem, Pennsylvania, in full 
possession of her mental fac- 
ulties. She has been deaf for 
a number of years, and uses 
a slate in conversation. Her 
hand is firm, and she writes 
with vigor, as her signature, 
carefully copied in the engra- 
ving, madeatthe close of 1859, 
attests. It was appended to 
an autograph note to the 
writer. The portrait was tak- 
en by the Baguerreian pro- 
cess at that time. In a diary 
kept by the younger pupils 
of the Bethlehem boarding- 
school, where Miss Hecke- 
welder was educated, under 
date of December 23, 17S8 




(the year when Marietta was 
founded), occurs the follow- 
ing sentence : " Little Miss 
Polly Heckewelder's papa re- 
turned from Fort Pitt, which 
occasioned her and us great 
joy." See Bethlehem Souve- 
nir, 1858, p. G7. 

1 This fort was a regular 
parallelogram, with an exte- 
rior line of seven hundred 
and tweuty feet. There was a 
strong block-house at each 
corner, surmounted by a tow- 
er and sentry-box. Between 
them were dwelling-houses. 
At the outer comer of each 
block -house was a bastion, 
standing on four stout tim- 
bers. There were port-holes 
for musketry and artillery. 
These buildings were, all 
made ol sa.wed timbers. 
Twenty feet in advance of 
these was a row of very 
strong and large pickets, 



with gateways through them, and a few feet outside of these was placed a row of abatis. 

2 Arthur St. Clair was a native of Edinburg, in Scotland, where he was boru in 1734. He came to America with Admi- 
ral Boscawen in 1759, and served under Wolfe as a lieutenaut. After the peace in 1703 he was placed in command of 
Fort Ligonier, in Pennsylvania. When the Revolution broke out he espoused the patriot cause, and was appointed a 
colonel in the Continental army in January, 1770. He was active most of the time during that war, and after its close 
settled in Pennsylvania. He was President of the Continental Congress in 17S7, and the following year was appointed 
governor of the newly-organized Northwestern Territory. His services in that region are recorded in the text. He 
survived his misfortunes there almost a quarter of a century, and then died, in poverty, at Laurel Hill, in Western 
Pennsylvania, in August, 181S, at the age of eighty-four years. 

3 William B. Giles, a member of Congress from Virginia. 



38 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Temper of the Western Indians. 



The British tampering with them. Lord Dorchester. Frontier Troops and Posts. 




1 788, and took up his abode in Campus . .j„iy, 
Mai-tius,'' with Winthrop Sargent as ™s- 



'fK^^^^^^^^^C 



BIGNATUBE OF WINTHItOr 8AEGENT. 

secretary or deputy, who acted as chief mag- 
istrate during the absence of the governor. 

St. Clair at once instituted inquiries, irr ac- 
cordance with his instructions, concerning the 
temper of the Indians in the Territory. They 
were known to be exceedingly uneasy, and 
sometimes in frowning moods ; and the tribes 
on the Wabash, numbering .almost two thou- 
sand warriors, who had not been parties to 
any of the treaties, were decidedly hostile. 
They continued to make predatory incursions 
into the Kentucky settlements, notwithstand- 
ino- chastisements received at the hands of 
General George Rogers Clarke, the "father 
of theN^orthwest," as he lias been called ; and they were in turn invaded and scourged 
by bands of retaliating Kentuckians. These expeditions deepened the hostile feeling, 
and gave strength and fierceness to both parties when, in after years, they met in 
battle. 

It soon became evident that all the tribes in the Territory, nuijibering full twenty 
thousand souls, were tampered with by British emissaries, sent out from tlie frontier 
forts, which had not been given up to the United States in compliance with treaty stip- 
ulations. Sir John Johnson (son of Sir William, of the Mohawk Valley, and the im- 
placable enemy of the United States^) was the Inspector General of Indian Affairs in 
America, and had great influence over the savages; and Lord Dorchester (formerly 
Sir Guy Carleton) was again to war. These circumstan- 

governor gener.al of those \JX j^ ^/^ ces gave rise to the opinion 

provinces,^ and, by speeches S/J~~Zr?^C^^C^^L£yy' ^^^'^ *^® British govern- 
at Quebec and Montreal, di- ment, which yet refused to 

rectly instigated the savages send a representative to 

the United States, and treated the new republic with ill-concealed contempt, was pre- 
paring the way for an effort to reduce the members of the League to colonial vas- 
salage. 

The Confederacy was but feebly prepared to meet hostilities on their northwestern 
frontier. The military force at the time the Territory was formed consisted of only 
about six hundred men, commanded by Brigadier General Harmar.^ Of these there 
were two companies of artilleiy, formed of volunteers who enlisted to put down Shays's 
Rebellion in Massachusetts. The frontier military stations were Pittsburg, at the forks 
of the Ohio, Fort M'Intosh, on Beaver Creek, and Fort Franklin, on French Creek, 
near old Fort Venango, in Pennsylvania ; Fort Harmar, at the mouth of the Mus- 



' Sir John was the heir to the title and fortune of Sir William, and was at the bead of the Loyalists in the Mohawk 
Valley at the begiuuino; of the Revolution. He had lived some time in England, and returned to settle in Canada in 
1785. He had suffered in perpon and estate at the hands of the republicans, having been expelled from his home, his 
property contiscated, and his family exiled. These circumstances made him a bitter and relentless foe, and ready to 
striice a blow of retaliation. His losses were made up by the British government by grants of land. He died at Mont- 
real in 1830, at the age of eighty-eight years. For a detailed account of his career during the old war for independence, 
see Lossing's Field-liook of the Revolutum, vol. i. 

2 Sir Guy Carleton was Governor of Canada when the old war for independence broke out, and continued there until 
its close. He was acquainted with all the affairs of the Indians, and had great influeuce over them. 

3 Appointed brigadier general on the Slst of July, 1787. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 39 



CouDcil at Port Hamar. Little Turtle's Opposition. Uneasiness of the Indians of the Gulf Hegion. 




FORT HAK.UAE. 



kingum River; Fort Steuben, on the Oliio River, now Jefferson\'ille, opposite Louis- 
ville; and Fort Yincennes, on tlie Wabash River. 

Early in 1789"- Governor St. Clair held a council at Fort Harmari with 
chiefs and sachems of the Six ISTations. He also held a council with the °'^^™'"''''- 
leading men of the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, and 
Sacs. With all these representatives of thousands of Indians, scattered over the coun- 
try from the Mohawk Valley to that ofthe Wabash, he made treaties, when old agree- 
ments were confirmed, and remunerations and boundaries were specified. The Six 
Nations (or, rather, five of the six nations, for the Mohawks, who were in Canada, were 
not represented) were faithful to the treaty; but the great body of the others, influ- 
enced by British emissaries and unscrupulous traders, refused to acknowledge the valid- 
ity of the treaty made by their warriors and rulers.^ Within a few weeks after the 
council at Fort Harmar, parties of them were out upon the war-path on the frontiers 
of Virginia and Kentucky. 

Nearer the Gulf, the Creeks and Cherokees, brought into immediate contact with 
the wily Spaniards in Florida and at New Orleans, who were already preparing seduc- 
tive temptations to the settlers in the trans-AIIeghany valleys to leave the American 
League and join fortunes with the children of Old Spain, became first uneasy, and at 
the time in question were assuming a hostile attitude. The Creeks, led by the talented 
M'Gillivray, a half-breed, whose father was a Scotchman, had formed a close alliance 
with the Spaniards, and through them might receive arms and other military supplies. 
In view of all these circumstances, the portentous cloud of a threatened general Indian 
war was gathering in the western horizon at the close of 1789. 

1 This fort was commenced in the autnmn of 17S5, by a detachment of United States troops under the command of 
Major John Doughty. It was on the right bank of the Muskingum, at its junction with the Ohio, and was named in 
honor of Colonel Josiah Harmar, to whose regiment Major Doughty'a corps was attached. It was the first military post 
of the kind erected within the limits of Ohio. The outlines formed a regular pentagon, embracing about three fourths 
of an acre. United States troops occupied it until ITOO, when they left it to con.struct and occupy Fort Washington, on 
the site of Cincinnati. During the Indian wars that succeeded it was occupied by a few troops, and was finally aban- 
doned after the treaty of Greeuville in 1795. 

2 In the great council at Fort Greenville in 1795, Little Turtle, the most active of the chiefs in the Northwest, gave the 
following reason for their refusal to comply with the treaties: "You have told me," he said, "that the present treaty 
should be founded upon that of Muskingum. I beg leave to observe to you that that treaty was effected altogether by 
the Six Nations, who seduced some of our young men to attend it' together with a few of the Chippewas, Wyandots, 
Delawares, Ottawas, and Pottawatomies. I beg leave to tell you that I am entirely ignorant of what was done at that 
treaty.** 



40 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Evidences of Britisli Intrigues; Proposed Western Boundary of the U nited States. Indian Warriors on tlie Ohio. 

Yet more threatening was the aspect of affairs on the Western frontier in the spring 
of 1790. Serious trouble was evidently brewing. Major Hamtramck, a small Cana- 
dian Frenchman, and a spirited officer in the' United States army, was in command of 
the military post at Vincennes, an important point on the Wabash,^ surrounded by 
French families, whose long residence made them influential among the Indians. Many 
of the latter spoke their language, and some had embraced the Roman Catholic relig- 
ion. Taking advantage of this intimate relationship, Hamtramck sent out Antoine 
Gamelin, with: speeches to the Wabash and Miami Indians from Governor St. Clair, of- 
fering them peace: and friendship. In the course of his tour Gamelin obtained positive 
evidence of the influence of the British at Detroit over the savage mind in the West. 
He traversed the country from Post Vincennes along the Wabash, and eastward to the 
Miami village, where the conjunction of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's Rivers forms 
the Maumee, or Miami of the Lakes, at the present city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He 
made speeches himself, and ofiered them St. Clair's ; but he was every where met with* 
the reply that they could do nothing definitely until they could hear from Detroit. 
"You invite us to stop our young men," said the-Kickapoos. "It is impossible to do 
it, being constantly encouraged by the British." "We are all sensible of your speech, 
and pleased with it," said Blue Jacket, chief warrior of the Shawnoese; "but we can 
not give you an answer without hearing from our father at Detroit." " We can not 
give a definite answer without consulting the commandant at Detroit," said Le Gris, 
the great chief of the Miamis. "The English commandant at Detroit is our father 
since he threw down our French father," said the Shawnoese.'' And so, on all occa- 
sions, they were unwilling to accept proffers of peace with the United States without 
first consulting the commandant at Detroit, with whom Johnson and Carleton were in 
constant communication. Instigated by these men, these Western tribes insisted on 
the establishment of the Ohio River as the boundary between the Indians and the 
United States, and would listen to no other terms.^ 

Hamtramck was so well satisfied of these machinations of the British that he assured 
Governor St. Clair that a permanent peace with the savages was an impossibility. The 
governor, meanwhile, had received accounts of the depredations of the Indians along 
the Ohio from the Falls (Louisville) to Pittsburg. They infested the banks in such 
numbers, waylaying boats and plundering and wounding the voyaging emigrants, that 
an utter cessation of the navigation of the river seemed inevitable. 

The principal rendezvous of the marauders was near the mouth of the Scioto, on the ' 
north bank of the Ohio, and to that point two hundred and thirty Kentucky volunteers 
and one hundred regular troops were sent, under General Harmar. They assembled 
at Fort Washington,* then not quite completed, and marched from thence to the Scioto. 



1 Vincennes was so named by tlie French traders, who established a trading-post there as early as 1730. The name is 
in honor of the Sienr de Vincennes, an officer sent to the Miamis as early as 1T05, and who commanded the post on the 
Wabash, afterward called by his name. It was alternately in possession of the Americans and British during the Revo- 
lution, while the head-quarters of the latter were at Detroit. It is on the bank of the Wabash, one hundred miles from 
its mouth, and is the capital of Ehox County, Indiana. 

= Oamelin'B Journal, cited by Dillon, in his His(ory of Indiana, p. 226. 

3 This curtailment of the boundaries of the United States, so as to prevent their control of the npper lakes and the 
valuable fur trade of the country around them, was a favorite scheme of British statesmen. It was even proposed as a 
fine qua rum, at one time, by the British commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Peace in 1814, that the Indians 
inhabiting a portion of the United States within the limits established by the Treaty of 1783 should be included as the 
allies of Great Britain in the projected pacification ; and that definite boundaries should be settled for the Indian terri- 
tory, upon a basis which would have operated to suiTender to a number of Indians, not probably exceeding a few thou- 
sands, the rights of sovereignty as well as of soil, over nearly one third of the territorial dominions of the United States 
inhabited by more than one hundred thousand of its citizens.* ' 

« Fort Washington was built on the site of a block-house erected by Ensign Luce within the limits of the present city 
of Cincinnati, which was first named Losantiville by a pedantic settler, from the words !e os antl ville, which he interpreted 
as meaning "the village opposite the mouth"— mouth of Licking Elver. Luce was at North Bend with a detachment of 
troops, charged with selecting a site for a block-house. Judge Symmes wished it to be built there, biit Luce accordine 
to the judge, was led to Cincinnati, as Losantiville was then called, on account of his love for the beautiful wife of a se^ 
tier, who went there to reside because of the attentions to her of Uie ensign at the Bend. Luce followed, and erected the 

* See American State Papers, ix., 332 to 421, inclusive. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



41 



Fort Washington, on the Site of Ciuciunati. 



Harmar'8 Expedition against the Indians. 



' 1790. 



The Indians fled on their 
approach, and the expedi- 
tion returned witliout ac- 
complishing any thing. 

A more formidable expe- 
dition, to penetrate the Mi- 
ami country, was determ- 
ined upon, and, at the close 
of September," Gen- 
eral Harmar left Fort 
Washington witli over four- 
teen hundred troops,^ and 
moved toward the heart of 
the hostile Indian country 
around the head waters of 
the Maumee. St. Clair, in 
obedience to instructions 
fi'om President Washington, 
liad previously sent a let- 
ter' to the British commandant at Detroit, courteously informing him 
that the expedition had no designs upon any possessions of the crown, 
lie added that he had every reason to expect, after such a candid explanation, that the 

commandant would 
neither countenance 
nor assist the tribes 
in their hostilities. 
Of course this ex- 
pectation was not 




fORT WABUI^GTON, ON TUE BITE OF OINCmNATI. 



'' September 19. 




,:Z^- 



y^^ 



-^^S-^^^-^^-^P^-po ^pi^^r^^ 



realized. 

Harmar reached the Mauraee at the middle of October. As he approached an In- 
dian town the inhabitants fled, leaving it to be burned by the invaders. Colonel Har- 
din, with some Kentucky volunteers and thirty regulars, was sent in pursuit. He fell 
into an ambuscade of one hundred Indians, under Mish-i-kin-a-hwa., or Little Turtle 
(an eminent Miami chief), about eleven miles from the site of Fort Wayne, where the 
Goshen state road ci'osses the Eel River. The frightened militia fled without firing a 
gun, while the regulars stood firm until twenty-two of their number were slain. Cap- 
tain Armstrong, who escaped, stood in mud and water up to his chin, and saw the sav- 
ages dance in frantic joy because of their victory. 

Harmar moved about two miles to Chillicothe^ and destroyed it; then, after being 



blocli-house there : and in 1790 Major Doughty built Fort Washington on the same spot. It was a rude but strong 
structure, and stood upon the eastern boundary of the town as originally laid out, between the present Third and Fourth 
Streets, east of Eastern Kow, now Broadway, which was then a "two-pole alley." The celebrated English writer and 
traveler, Mrs. Trollope, resided in Cincinnati for a while, and had a noted bazar on the site of the fort. That work was 
composed of a number of strongly-built hewn-log cabins, a story and a half in height, arranged for soldiers' barracks. 
Some, better tinished than the majority, were used by tire officers. They formed a hollow square, inclosing about an acre 
of ground, with a strong block-house at each angle. One of these was Luce's. These were built of the timber from the 
ground on which the fort stood. In 1792 Congress resei"ved fifteen acres around it for the use of the garrison. In the 
autumn of 1790, Governor St. Clair arrived at Fort Washington, organized the County of Hamilton, and decreed that the 
little village of Cincinnati, commenced around the fort, should be the county seat. Thus commenced the Queen City of 
the West, as it has been called. 

1 These consisted of three battalions of Virginia militia, one battalion of Pennsylvania militia, one battalion of mount- 
ed light troops, and two battalions of regulars— in all, 1453. Of these, 320 were regulars. 

2 This has been mistaken for the present Chillicothe on the Scioto. Chillicothe was the name of one of the priucipal 
tribes of the Shawnoese, and was a favorite name for a village. There were several of that name in the country of the 
Shawnoese. There was Old Chillicothe, where Boone was a captive for some time. It was on the Little Miami, on the 
site of Xenia. There was another on the site ofWestfall, in Pickaway County; and still another on the site of Frank- 
fort, in Ross County. There was an Indian town of that name on the site of the present Chillicothe. All these were 
within the present limits of Ohio. It signified " the town," or principal one. 



42 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Battle near Fort Wayne, and Harmar's Defeat. 



The Disaster and its ConBeqnences. 



• October 21, 
1790. 



menaced by the Indians, he- turned his face toward Fort Washington.* 
That night was a starry one, and Hardin, who was full of fight, proposed 
to Harmar a surprise of the Indians at the head of the Maumee, where they ha^ a vil- 
lage on one side of the river and an encampment of warriors on the other side. Har- 
mar reluctantly complied, and four hundred men were detached for the purpose.^ Six- 
ty of them were regulars, under Major Wyllys. They marched in three columns (the 
regulars in the centre), and pushed forward as rapidly as possible, hoping to fall upon 
the Indians before dawn. But it was after sunrise before they reached the bank of the 
Maumee. A plan of attack was soon arranged. Major Hall, with a detachm&nt of mi- 
litia, was to pass around the village at the bend of the Maumee, cross the St. Mary's 
and the St. Joseph's, gain the rear of the Indian encampment unobserved, and await 
an attack by the main body of the troops in front. These, consisting of Major M'Mul- 
lin's battalion. Major Fontaine's cavalry, and the regulars under Major Wyllys, were to 
cross the Maumee at and near the usual ford, and thus surround the savages. The game 
was spoiled by the imprudence of Major Hall, who fired prematurely upon a solitary 
Indian and alarmed the encampment. The startled Miamis were instantly seen flying 

in different directions. The 




militia under M'Mullin and 
the cavalry under Fontaine, 
who had crossed the river, 
started in pursuit, in disobe^ 
dience of orders, leaving the 
regulars under Wyllys, who 
had also crossed the Mau- 
mee, unsupported. The lat- 
ter were attacked by Little 
Turtle and the main body 
of the Indians, and driven 
back with great slaughter. 
Richardville, a ♦half- blood 
and successor to Little Tur- 
tle, who was in the battle, 
and Who died at Fort Waiyne . 
in 1840, often asserted that 
the bodies of the slain were 
. , ^ , ., ^ , , ,., so numerous in the river at 

the tord that he could have crossed over the stream upon them dryshod ^ 

While this conflict was going on at the ford, M'Mullin and Fontaine, in connection 
with HalWere skirmishmg with parties of Indians a short distance up tTie St. Jo- 
sephs. Fontaine, with a number of his followers, fell at the head of his mounted 
militia, in making a charge. He was shot dead, and, falling fi-om his horse, was imme- 
diately scalped. The remamder, with those under Hall and M'Mullin, feU back in 
confusion toward the ford of the Maumee, and followed the remnant of the regulars 
m their retreat. The Indians, having suff-ered severely, did not pursue. ^ 

the res? a'Z^"^" informed of the disaster by a horseman who had outstripped 

that Sthirtv Jm ? '""^t^lff '^ h^d t^ten possession of these raw recruits 
that only thirty willmg to go, could be found among them. On his arrival at camn 
Hardm urged Harmar to proceed with his whole foL to the MauLe Sif laS 
'October 23. ^^J^^S ^^^t ^n confidence in the militia, refused; and, as soon as Drena- 
^^^^^l^^^^^^ldbemade^^ army took up its maiW Sort WaS- 



THE MAUMEE TOED— PLACE OF HAEMAU'S DEFEAT. 



= sirrn?o?^rSg;™^^^in^^ 



OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 



43 



Scene of Harmar's Defeat. 



Visit of tlie Author to the Places of Conflict. 



Site of the Miami Village. 



FIGHT BETWEEN MILITIA 
^ AND INDIANS 




ington, which they reached oH the 
4th of November. ' 

I visited the scene of the disas- 
ter at the Mauniee Ford toward 
the close of Sejjtember, 1860. I 
came up the Maumee Valley to 
Defiance on the night of the 24th, 
and, after visiting places of histor- 
ic interest there the next morn- 
ing (of which I shall hereafter 
write), I rode on to Fort Wayne 
upon the Toledo and Wabash Rail- 
way, a distance of forty -three 
■hiiles. It was a delightful day, 
but the journey was very monot- 
onous, because almost intermina- 
ble forests covered the flat country 
over which we passed. I arrived 

at the flourishing city of Fort Wayne, the sliire town of Allen County, Indiana, late in 
the afternoon, and by twilight had visited the fords of the Maumee and St. Josef)h's, 
made famous by the events of the 22d of October, 1790. I was accomjjanied by the 
Hon. F. P. Randall, the mayor of the city, who kindly offered his services as guide. 
We crossed the great bridge at the head of the Maumee, and rode first down that 
stream to the place yet known as "Harmar's Ford." It is about half a mile below 
the confinence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's at Fort Wayne. The river was not 
then fordable there, a dam having been built about half a mile below, making the 
water four feet deep at the old crossing-place. The road that led to and crossed the 
ford was along the margin of the Maumee, which was skirted by the same forest-trees 
in whose presence the battle was fought. They had grown to be grand and stately, 
and were made exceedingly picturesque by the trailing grape-vines. 

We returned to the bridge and rode up 
the St. Joseph's to the place where Major 
Hall and his detachment forded it. It is 
about half a mile above the bridge. There 
the St. Joseph's, with its banks fringed 
with a variety of graceful trees, swept in 
gentle curves, and presented to the eye 
pictures of great beauty. Near the spot 
here represented, on the east bank of the 
St. Joseph's, was once a stockade, built 
by the French, and occupied by the En- 
glish in Pontiac's time. 

The land of the point between the St. 
Joseph's and the Maumee, on which Little 
Turtle was encamped and the principal 
Miami village was situated, is a level bot- 
tom, and known as the Cole Farm. Much 
of it was covered with Indian corn of lux- 

1 Harmar lost, in this expedition, 183 killed and 31 wounded. Among the killed were Majors Wyllys and Fontaine. 
The loss of the Indians was supposed to be about equal to that of the white people. Criminations and recriminations 
grew out of this expedition. Harmar and Hardin were both tried by court-martial and both were acquitted. Harmar 
resigned his commission on the 1st of January, 1T92. Hardin had been a lieutenant in Morgan's rifle corps in the Revo- 
lution, and was a brave soldier. He was a Virginian by birth, but settled in Kentucky after the war. He was killed by 
some Shawnoese while on a mission of peace to them in 1792, when he was in the thirty-ninth year of his age. A coun- 
ty in each of the states of Ohio and Kentucky bears his name, in his honor. 




HALL B CivOisblNG PJ AOE. 



44 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



A venerable Historical Apple-tree. 



Cliief Eichardville. 



The Twightwecs. 



Their Cruelty to Prisoners. 



uriant growth; and I was told that there is evidence that a similar crop has been 
raised from it year after year for almost a century, and yet the soil was black, rich, 
and apparently inexhaustible. Here, it is said, was the place where the Miamis 
were accustomed to burn their prisoners.' 

About three hundred yards westward 
from Harmar's Ford, on the site of the In- 
dian camp, was a venerable apple-tree, full 
of fruit, its trunk measuring fifteen feet 
in circumference. Under this tree Chief 
Richardville, to whom allusion has been 
made, was born a little more than a hund- 
red years ago.^ It was a fruit - bearing 
tree then, and is supposed to have grown 
from a seed dropped by some French 
trader among these Twightwees, as the 
Miamis were called in early times.^ In 
the sketch of the apple-tree the city o f 
Fort Wayne is seen in the distance. The 
spires on the left are those of the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral. 

We returned to Fort Wayne at twi- 
light, and I spent the e^^ening profitably 
Vvith Mr. Hedges, one of the oldest and most intelligent of the inhabitants of that 
town.* He Avas there in the spring of 1812, while the old stockade was yet standing, 
and before a garrison of United States troops from Harrison's army arrived. He has 
seen the city bloom out into its present form and beauty from the folds of the dark 
forest, and its history and traditions are as familiar to him as those of his own biog- 
raphy. We chatted on the events of the past until a late hour, and parted with an 
agreement to visit the historic scenes together in the morning. The air toward mid- 
night was as mild as early June, but a dappled sky prophesied a storm. At three 
o'clock in the morning I was aroused by heavy thunder-peals, and the daw«ing of the 




Arn.E-TREE ^E.vr. uae.mar e ford. 



1 We have mentioned Mr. Gameliu's peace mission, on page 40, He was at this place, and only three days after he 
left (about the 1st of May, 1790), the savages, as if in derision of the United States authority, brought an American pris- 
oner there and burned him.— See Dileon's Hisiory of Indiana. 

About seventy years ago a white man was bound to the stake at this place. The mother of Chief Richardville, men- 
tioned in the next note, and a woman of great influence, had made fruitless attempts to save him. The torch was ap- 
])Iied. Eichardville, then quite young, had been designated as their future chief. She appealed to him, and, placing a 
i:nife in his hand, bade him assert his chieftainship and cut the cords that bound the prisoner. He obeyed, and the pris- 
<mer was released. The kind-hearted Miami woman secreted the prisoner and sent him down the Maumee in a canoe, 
covered with furs and peltries, in charge of some friendly Indians. Many years afterward Richardville stopped at a 
town in Ohio. A man came to him and threw his arms affectionately around his neck. It was the rescued prisoner. — 
Lecture bcfcjre the Congregation of the First Preshyterian Church, Fort Wayne. 

2 Pis-he-wa (AVildcat), or Jean Baptiste Richardville, was born in 1T50. His father was Joseph Drouet de Richard- 
ville, a Frenchman, who traded at Ke-ld-on-ga'* (Fort Wayne) from 1T50 to 1770. He was elected chief of the Miamis, on 
the death of Little Turtle, in ISll. He was a large, fine-looking man, of quite light complexion, and spoke English well. 
Richardville left a foitune at his death in 1S40. I was told by an old resident of Fort Wayne, who knew him well, that 
he had received large sums of money and immense tracts of land, from time to time, in consideration of his signing 
treaties ; and that, at his death, he had $200,000 buried where no one but his daughter could find it. He was a temperate 
man, with acquisitiveness largely developed. He was buried in Fort Wayne. 

3 The Twightwees once formed a powerful confederacy of tribes, and claimed to be the possessors of a vast teiTitory. 
At the treaty with Wayne at Greenville, which we shall notice presently, Little Turtle thus defined the ancient bound- 
ary of the Twightwees or Miamis : " It is well known by all my brothers present that my forefather kindled the first fire 
at Detroit ; from thence he extended his lines to the head waters of the Scioto ; from thence to its mouth ; from thence 
down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash ; and from thence to Chicago, on Lake Michigan." — Avierican State Papers, 
i., 570. This comprises about one half of Ohio, the whole of Indiana, and a part of Southern Michigan. 

4 John P. Hedges was employed in the commissary's department, under John H. Piatt, of Ohio, the contractor for the 
army of the Northwest, commanded by General Harrison. He was active in that department during the whole of the 
war, and became familiar with all the territory. He was with General M'Arthur in his campaign in Western Canada 
and was with Harrison at the battle of the Th.ames. He was at the treaty with the Indians atlsreenville in 1814, and 

, distributed provisions to the savages on that occasion. 



■ Ke-ld-on-ga in the language of the Miamis, and Kee-M-ogue in that of the Pottawatomies. 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 45 



Indian Hostilities continued. Expeditions of Generals Scott and Wilkinson. Destruction of Villages and Crops. 

28th was made dreary by a cold drizzle drifting upon a northeast wind. I went out 
alone, and made the sketches at the two fords and other drawings, and, after visiting 
the grave of Little Turtle, departed in the midday train for Indianapolis. Of Fort 
Wayne in 1812, and of Little Turtle and his grave, I shall hereafter write. 

Although Harmar in his expedition had punished the Miamis and Shawnoese se- 
' verely, and Hamtramck meanwhile had been up the Wabash to the mouth of the 
Vermilion River and destroyed some deserted villages, Indian hostilities in the North- 
west were not even checked. The settlers along the Ohio were continually menaced 
and sometimes attacked by the savages, back of whom was distinctly heard the voice 
of the British commandant at Detroit. Western Virginia and Kentucky were threat- 
ened, and life and property on the frontiers were iii jeopardy every hour. The Vir- 
ginia Legislature adopted measures for the protection of the. settlers, arid the national 
government, awake to the importance of the subject, put forth ail its available strength 
for the same purpose. General Knox, the Secretairy of War, issued orders to proper 
authorities beyond the mountains " to impress the Indians with the power of the 
United States," and " to inflict that degree of punishment which justice may re- 
quire."^ Under these instructions. General Scott, of Kentucky, with eight "hundred 
mounted men, crossed the Ohio," and penetrated the Wabash country to the , jj^y 23, 
large village of Ouiatenon, situated about eight milesibejow the present vil- ^''''^• 
lage of Lafayette, Indiana, where several French families resided. There he found 
ample evidence of the Indians' connection with and dependence on the British at 
Detroit. Scott destroyed the town, and several villages in the neighborhood, and 
desolated the country. He killed thirty-two Indians, " chiefly warriors of size and 
figure," and took fifty-eight prisoners, without losing any of his own men.* 

On the 1st of August Brigadier General James Wilkinson left Cincinnati (Fort 
Washington) with five hundred and twenty-five men, and penetrated the same region, 
by a different route, to the important Ouiatenon village of K^e-na-pa-com-ctrqua, which 
the French called IjAnguiUe (The Eel), on the Eel River, about six miles from the 
present Logansport, Indiana.^ He destroyed that village, desolated the country 
around as far as Tippecanoe, and then pushed forward to the great prairies that 
stretch away toward Lake Michigan. But deep morasses, into which he was some- 
times plunged armpit deep, compelled him to return. He then destroyed another 
Kickapoo village of twenty houses, desolated all the .crops, and, after a march of four 
hundred and fifty miles, reached the Falls of the Ohio (Louisville) on the 21st of 
August.* 

The misfortune that befell the Indians under the lash of Scott and Wilkinson did not 
quiet them. The British emissaries stimulated their courage to a point of desperation 
by assuring them that the grand object of the United States was to exterminate the 
tribes and take possession of their lands.' Thus two most powerful incentives to war 

1 Instmctions of the Secretary of War to Brigadier General Scott, of Kentncky, March 9, 1791. 

s Scott's official report to the Secretary of War, June 28, 1791. 

s Port Ouiatenon, a stockade bnilt by the Fi'ench, was near the present city of Lafayette, Indiana. 

* " I have destroyed," he said, " the chief town of the Ouiatenon nation, and made prisoners of the sons and sisters 
of the king. I have burned a respectable Kickapoo village, and cut down at least four hundred and thirty acres of com, 
chiefly in the milk. The Ouiatenons, left without houses, home, or provisions, must cease to war, and will find active 
employ to subsist their squaws and children during the impending winter."— Wilkinson's OJuilalliepari to GmetmorSt. 
Clair, August 24, 1791. 

5 The most active of these British emissaries were Simon Girty, Andrew M'Kee, and Mathew Elliott, three malignant 
Tories during the Revolution. The two latter were natives of Path Valley, Pennsylvania. Many a.murder was justly 
charged to these men while the old war for independence was in progress. They carried on their depredations on the 
frontier with a high hand, and, for their faithfulness in inciting Indian hostilities during that war that led to frightful 
massacres, the British government rewarded them with official station. They raanied Indian women, and became thor- 
oughly identified with the savages. At the time we are now considering Elliott and M'Kee were subordinate a.gents in 
the British Indian Department, and, with Girty, had homes near Maiden, in Canada, on the Detroit Eiver. We shall 
meet Elliott again. Girty was an unmitigated scoundrel. More brutal than the most savage Indian, he had not one 
redeeming quality. He was the offspring of crime. His father, an Irishman, was a sot ; his mother was a bawd. He 
was nurtured pmong the warlike Senecas, and his innate cruelty had free scope for growth. With Elliott and M'Kee, 
who, with him, had been imprisoned at Pittsburg in 1778, he aroused the Indians in the Northwest with the same cry 



PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Sorts to form an Indian Confederacy. Building of Forts in the Indian Conntry. A Camp deep In tlie Wilderness. 

rere presented— self-preservation and patriotism. In defense of life and country they 
esolved to fight to the last. Little Turtle, of the Miamis, Blue Jacket, of the Sha w- 
oese, and Buck-ong-a-helos,- of the Delawares, put forth all their energies in the sum- 
ler of 1791, as Pontiao had done thirty years before, to confederate all the Western 
ribes in. an effort to drive every European froin the soil north of the Ohio. The 
Totestations of St. Clair .that peace, friendship, and justice, not war, subjugation, and 
abbery, were the desire of the people and government of the United States, were of 
o avail; and he was compelled, for the sake of the national life on the frontier, to 
ttempt to convince them, by the stern argument of arms, that they were governed 
y bad counselors at Detroit. 

It was determined .to establish a strong military post in the heart of the Miami 
ountry, on the site of the present city of Fort Wayne. Congress authorized the 
aising of sufiicient troops for the purpose, and during the spring and summer of 
791, St. Clair was putting forth strong efforts in that direction, but with indifferenta 
access. Enlistments were slow, and it was not until the beginning of September 
dat he had collected a sufficient force to attempt the enterprise with an appearance 
f safety. These had been collected in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and placed under 
le immediate command, in camp, of Major Hamtramck, who was remarkable as a 
ictician-and disciplinarian.^ St. Clair took the field as commander-in-chief Major 
reneral Richard Butler, of Pennsylvania, was his second in command, and Winthrop 
argent, Secretary of the Territory, was appointed adjutant general. 

An army little more than two thousand strong, under the immediate command of 
reneral Butler, and accompanied by General St. Clair, moved forward on the 5th and 
6th of September.* On the bank of the Great Miami, little more than twen- 
ty miles from Fort Washington, they halted and built Fort Hamilton, on the 
ite of the present village of Hamilton. . Forty-two miles farther on, at a point about 
ix miles south of GreenvUle, in the present Darke County, Ohio, they buUt Fort Jef- 
irson. When they moved from there, on the 24th of October, they began to encoun- 
3r the subtle foe in small parties. It was e^vident that dusky scouts were hanging 
pon their flanks, and they became hourly more cautious and vigilant. The nights 
'ere frosty, but serene. The days were genial and brilliant. The summer warmth 
ad been diffused over the whole of September ; and now the forests were arrayed in 
11 the gorgeous beauty of autumnal splendors peculiar to them. 

At length, when dark clouds were overhead, and falling leaves were thick in their 
ath, the invading army halted and encamped upon the borders of an unknown 
;ream, which proved to be a chief tributary of the Upper Wabash. They were 
inety-seven miles from Fort Washington, deep in the wilderness. ► A light faU of 
low lay upon the ground — so light that it appeared like hoar-frost. Over a piece 
F rising ground, timbered with oak, ash, and hickory, the encampment was spread, 
ith a fordable stream, forty feet in width, in front. The army lay in two lines, sev- 
ity yards apart, with four pieces of cannon in the centre of each. Across the stream, 
id beyond a rich bottom land three hundred yard^ in width, was an elevated plain, 
jvered with an open forest of stately trees. There the militia — three hundred and 
fty independent, half-insubordinate men, under Lieutenant Colonel Oldham, of Ken- 
icky — were encamped. 

Eight weary miles through the woods the soldiers had marched that day, and when 
le camp was arranged the sun was low in the cloudless sky of the west. The tired 
)ldiers early sought repose, without suspicion of danger near. All around them 

at now alarmed them : "The Americans want to take your lives and your lands." For more than twenty years the 
)men and children of the Ohio conntry turned pale when his name was mentioned. • 

■ Hamtramck was a poor rider. " He was crooked like a frog on horseback," said the venerahle Maior Whitlock of 
•awfordsville, to me, who knew him well, and had served uhder him. He had the faciUty of inspirine the men with 
If-confldence, and, notwithstanding he was a most rigid disciplinarian, the troops all loved him, for Jie was kind 
arted, generous, and brave. ' " 



OB THE WAR OE 1812. 



41- 



St. Clair's Troops and the Indians. 



St. Clair's Camp. 



The Tribes represented by the Warriors. 







PLAN OP ST. CLAIB's OAMP AMD BATTLE.^ 



were evidences of old and recent Indian camps, and a few lurking savages had been 
seen by vigilant eyes ; but no one knew whether Little Turtle and his confederates, 
with their followers, were near or far away. 

They were near. Only a few miles distant the great Miami leader. Blue Jacket 
the Shawnoese chief, and Buck-ong-a-helos, the leader of the Delawares, with the 
cruel Girty and other white men in the British interest, were lying in wait, with two 
thousand fierce warriors at their beck.^ These had been watching St. Clair's move- 
ments for several days, and were waiting for the proper moment to fall upon him like 
a bolt from the cloud. 

The moi-ning of the 4th dawned brilliantly. "Moderate northwest wind, serene at- 
mosphere, and unclouded sky."^ All night long the sentinels had been firing upon 



1 This sketch of St. Clair's encampment is from Winthrop Sargent's MS. Journal of the Campaign, kindly lent to me 
by his grandson, Winthrop Sargent, Esq., of Philadelphia. It is a/oc-sjiraile of Mr. Sargent's sketch. 

EXPLANATION.— o, Butler's battalion ; 6 6, artillery ; c, Clarke's battalion ; d, Patterson's battalion ; c, Faulkner's rifle 
company ; //, cavalry ; g, detachment of U. S. Second Regiment ; ft, Gaither's battalion ; j, Beddinger's battalion ; & np, 
flank guards i o2, pickets ; «, swamp ; m, camp guard. The numerous crosses represent the enemy ; zz, troops retreat- 
ing ; the crooked stream, a tributary of the Wabash. 

s The late Colonel John Johnson, of Dayton, mentioned hereafter, informed me that, from the best information he 
could obtain, the Indians numbered about two thousand. Some have estimated their number at one thousand, and 
others at three thousand. The principal tribes engaged in the b(ittle were the Miamis, Delawares, Shawnoese, Wyan- 
dots, Ottawas, and a few Chippewas and Pottawatomies. 

' Winthrop Sargent's MS. Journal, November 4, 1791. 



18 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



3t. Clair'B Battle with the Indians and his Defeat. Flight of the vanqnished Army. A fleet-footed Womai 

prowling Indians, and the men, by order of the commanding general, had slept upo: 
their arms. 

The ti-oops had been early mustered and dismissed from parade. They were pn 
paring for breakfast, when, half an hour before sunrise, a body of Indians, with yell 
that wakened horrid echoes miles away through the forest, fell suddenly upon th 
militia. The assailed camp was immediately broken up, and the frightened soldiers 
most of whom had never been in battle, rushed wildly across the bottom and th 
creek into the lines of the regulars, producing alarm and confusion there. The ^r 
dians closely followed, and fell upon the regulars. The savages were several time 
repulsed, but soon rallied, and directed their most effective shots upon the artillery ii 
the centre. Every officer there was prostrated, and the cannon were silenced. Th 
carnage among the Americans was terrible, yet they withstood the enemy with grea 
gallantry for almost three hours. Finally, when full one half of the army had faller 
St. Clair ordered a retreat to an old Indian road or trail. This was accomplished afta 
a furious charge as if to turn the enemy's flank. > The militia then led the van in th 
precipitate retreat, which soon became a flight.^ The fugitive army was well covere( 
by Major Clarke and his battalion; and the Indians, after following about four mileE 
turned back, wonderfully elated- with their victory. Little Turtle was in chief com 
mand. 

St. Clair behaved gallantly during the dreadful scene. He was so tortured witl 
gout that he could not mount a horse without assistance. He was not in uniform 
His chief covering was a coarse cappo coat, and a three-cocked hat from under whicl 
his white hair was seen streaming as he and Butler rode up and down the lines durinj 
the battle. He had three horses killed under him. Eight balls passed through hi 
clothes. He finally mounted a pack-horse, and upon this animal, which could wit] 
difficulty be spurred into a trot, he followed in the retreat. 

The fugitive army did not halt until safely within the palisades of Fort Jeffersor 
The panic was terrible, and the conduct of the army after quitting the ground wa 
most disgraceful. Arms, ammunition, and accoutrements were almost all throw: 
away ; and even officers, in some instances, threw away their arms, " thus setting a: 
example for the most precipitate and ignominious flight."^ They left the camp a 
nine o'clock in the morning, and at seven o'clock that evening they were in Fort Je: 
ferson, twenty-nine miles distant. That evening Adjutant General Sargent wrote i 
his diary, "The troops have all been defeated; and though it is impossible, at thi 
time, to ascertain our loss, yet there can be no manner of doubt that more than hal 
the army are either killed or wounded."* 

1 There were quite a large number of the wounded so maimed that they could not walk or sit upon a horse, and the 
companions were compelled to leave them upon the field. " When they knew they must be left," says Sargent, " th( 
charged their pieces with a deliberation and courage which reflects the highest honor upon them ; and the firing of mu 
ketry in the camp after we had quitted it leaves little doubt that their latest efforts were professionally brave, and whei 
they could pull a trigger they avenged themselves."— JfS. Journal. 

During the engagement, the Indians, as opportunity oflered, plundered and scalped their victims. They also disfl] 
ured the bodies of the slain. Having been taught by the British emissaries that the Americans made war upon the 
for their lands, they crammed clay and sand into the eyes and down the throats of the dying and dead.— Dillon's Hi 
tory of Indiana, p. 283. Among the slain was Major General Butler ; and it has been authoritatively asserted that tl 
miscreant, Simon Girty, instigated a savage warrior, while the general was yet alive on the field, to scalp him, and tal 
out his heart for distribution among the tribes ! 

2 The whole number of effective troops in the battle, according to Sargent's return, was 1748. 

2 Sargent's MS. Journal. There were almost two hundred female camp-followers, chiefly wives of the soldiers. C 
these, fifty-six were killed ; most of the remainder were in the fiight. One of them, Mrs. Catharine Miller, who died : 
Cincinnati about the year 1838, was so fleet afoot that she ran ahead of the army. She had a great quantity of long n 

hair, that streamed behind her as she ran, and formed the mificmme which the soldiers followed Statement of Mai( 

Whitlock, of Crawfordsville, Indiana. 

4 MS. Journal, Friday, November 4,1791. Mr. Sargent was slightly wounded. According to his report, afterward ma( 
out carefully, thirty-six ofllcers were killed and thirty wounded ; and 593 privates were killed and missing and 2' 
wounded. He did not think many Indians were lost— probably not more than one hundred and fifty killed and wouui 
ed. Several pieces of cannon, and all the baggage, ammunition, and provisions were left o'l the field, and became spc 
for the savage victors. The value of public property lost, according to the report of the Secretary of War toward tl 
close of 1T92, was $32,810 75. The signature of the Adjutant General, of which afac-aimtte is given on page 88 was oo 



OF THE WAK OF 1812. 49 



Effect of St. Clair's Defeat on the Public Mind. Expression of President Washington's Indignation. 

At Fort Jefferson the flying troops found the First Regiment of the IJnited States 
army, about three hundred strong. Leaving a well-provisioned garrisoni there, the 
remnant of St. Clair's force made their way to Fort "Washington, where . November, 
they arrived at noon on the 8tL* •'^'^• 

Intelligence of St. Clair's defeat produced the greatest alarm among all the settlers 
in the West, even as far eastward as Pittsburg. It cast a gloom over society in all 
parts of the Union, and checked for a short time the tide of emigration in the direc- 
tion of the Ohio.^ 

St. Clair was condemned in unmeasured terms by men of all classes and parties, 
and the indignation of President "Washington was exceedingly hot. "Here," he said 
to Tobias Lear, his private secretary, 

" yes, HEKE, on this very spot, I took < ^^^ ^^?^"'^*''^^^''^™^^~~^ 

leave of him. I wished him success __^f^?^^^!!^^^^ 

aad honor. You have your instruc- -^ ^^ 

tions, I said, from the Secretary of 

"War. I had a strict eye to them, and 

will add but one word — beware of. a 

surprise ! I repeat it — beware oe a suepeise ! You know how the Indians fight 

us. He went off with that, as my last solemn warning, thrown into his ears.^ And 

yet ! ! to suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, by a 

surprise — the very thing I guarded him against ! ! O God, O G-od, he is worse than 

a murderer ! How can he answer it to his country ? The blood of the slain is upon 

him. — the curse of widows and orphans — the curse of Heaven !" 

The tone of "Washington's voice was appalling as these vehement sentences escaped 
his lips. " It was awful !" said Mr. Lear. " More than once he threw his hands up as 
he hurled imprecations upon St.. Clair." Mr. Lear remained speechless — awed into 
breathless silence. 

" The roused chief," says the chronicler, " sat down on the sofa once more. He 
seemed conscious of hiS' passion, and uncomfortable. He was silent ; his wrath be- 
gan to subside. He at length said, in an altered voice, ' This must not go beyond 

ied from his report. In Howe's Hi»U/rkal Collections of Ohio may be found many particulars and anecdotes of this dis- 
astrous campaign. 

Among the slain, as we have observed, was Major General Butler, a highly esteemed officer from Pennsylvania. He 
held the rank of colonel in the Continental army. In 178T he was sent to the Ohio as agent for Indian affairs in that 
quarter. He was wounded early in the action, and before his wounds could be dressed, an Indian, who had penetrated 
the camp, ran up and tomahawked and scalped him. Butler was much beloved by the Indians who were friendly to the 
United States. Among those who loved him most was Big Tree, a Seneca chief in the Genesee Valley. He vowed to 
avenge the death of Bntler by killing three of the hostile Indians. Because the treaty of peace at Greenville in 1795 
thwarted his bloody purpose, Big Tree committed suicide. 

1 This event was the theme for oratory, the pulpit, poetry, art, and song. I have before me a dirge-like poem, printed 
on a broadside, and embellished with rude wood-cuts representing forty coffins at the head, a portrait of General Butler, 
a Miami village, an Indian with a bow, and the hideous skull and cross-bones. It is entitled "The Columbian Trage- 
dy," and professes to give, in verse, " a particular and official aecount" of the affair. It was published " by the earnest 
request of the friends of the deceased worthies who died in defense of their country." According to this " official ac- 
count," the battle was fought between two thousand United States troops " and near four thousand wild Indian savages, 
at Miami Village, near Port Washington !" A pions tone runs through the mournful ballad, and the feelings of the 
writer may be Imagined after the perusal of this single verse : 

" My trembling hand can scarcely hold 
My faint, devoted quill. 
To write the actions of the Bold, 
Their Valor and their 5W!." 
There was a famous song that was sung for many years afterward, entitled " Sinclair's Defeat," written, as the author 
thus informs us, by one of the soldiers : 

" To mention our brave officers is what 1 write to do ; 
No sons of Mars e'er fought more brave, or with more courage true. 
To Captain Bradford I belonged, in his Artillery ; 
He fell that day among the slain— a valiant man was he." 
This son" may be found in Howe's HislorvMl CoUectiona of Ohio, p. 136. 

' This interview was on the 28th of March, 1T91, the day when St. Clair left Philadelphia and proceeded to the frontier 
post of Pittsburg. Thence he went to Kentucky, and afterward to Port Washington, every where endeavoring to enlist 
the sympathies and co-operation of the inhabitants for the campaign. 

D 



50 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



WaBhington'sKtodnesatoSt-Clair. Resignation of the latter. Hia later Daye. ■ General Wayne and Ms Troopg 

this room.' Another pause followed— a longer one— when he said, in a tone quite 
low, ' General St. Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily through the dispatches-^ 
saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars, I will hear him without preju- 
dice; he shall have fuH justice.' 

"He was now," said Mr. Lear, "perfectly calm. Half an hour had gone by; the 
storm was over, and no sign of it was afterward seen in his conduct or heard in his 
conversation."' . „ . . 

Washington was both generous and just, and St. Clair found in him a most faithful 
friend. "The first interview of the President with the unfortunate general after the 
fatal 4th of N'ovember," says the late Mr. Custis, who was present, "was nobly im- 
pressive. St. Clair, worn down by age, disease, and the hardships of a frontier cam- 
paign, assailed by the press, and with the current of popular opinion setting hard 
against him, repaired to his chief as to a shelter from the ftiry of so many elements. 
Washington extended his hand to one who appeared in no new character, for, during 
the whole of a long life, misfortune seemed ' to have marked him for her own.' Poor 
old St. Clair hobbled up to his chief, seized the offered hand in both of his, and gave 
vent to his feelings in an atidible manner. "^ 

St. Clair's case was investigated' by a committee of the House of Representatives, 
and he was honorably acquitted. But public sentiment had set against him in a cur- 
rent too strong to be successfully resisted, and he resigned his commission.^ Geiieral 
Anthony Wayne, whose impetuosity exhibited during the old war for independence 
had gained him the title of "Mad Anthony," was appointed to fill his place. Wayne 
was then in the prime of manhood, and Congress and the people had confidence in 
his intelligence, courage, and energy. Congress authorized an increase of the regu- 
lar army to a little over five thousand men, and a competent part of this force, to be 
called the Legion of the United States, was to be assigned to Wayne for an expedi- 
tion against the Indians in the Northwest. He took post at Pittsburg early in the 
following June,* and appointed that place as the rendezvous of his invading 
army. It was soon perceived that it was easier to vote troops in the halls of 
Congress than to draw them out and muster them in the camp ; and it was not until 
near the close of November that Wayne had collected a sufficient number to warrant 
his moving forward. He then went down the Ohio only about twenty miles, and there 
hutted his soldiers in a well-guarded camp, which he called Legionville. There he 
was joined by Lieutenant William Henry Harrison, afterward the distinguished gen- 
eral in the armies of the United States, and the ninth President of the republic. The 

I WaaMngton in Domestic Life, by Bicliard Eash, p. 6T. 

' SecoUections amd Private MemMra of WasMngtmi, by hia adopted aon, G. W. P. Cuatia, p. 419. 

'The late Hon. Ellsha Whittleaey, of Ohio, First Auditor of the United States Treasury dnrisg a portion of the flrsi 
term of Mr. Lincoln'a administration, and a veteran soldier of 1812, furnished me with the following interesting acconnl 
of hia interview with St. Clair three years before his death : 

" In May, 1816; four of us called upon him, on the top of Chestnut Ridge, eaatwardly eight or ten miles ftom Greens 
burg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. We were traveling on horseback to Connecticut, and being informed thai 
General St. Clair kept tavern, we decided to call for entertainment during the night. We alighted at his residence lat< 
in the afternoon, and, on entering his log house, we saw an elderly, neat gentleman, dressed in black broadcloth, sill 
stockings, and small-clothes, shining shoes whose straps were secured by large silver buckles, his hair clubbed and pow 
dered. On closing his book he rose, received us most kindly and gracefully, and pointing ns to chairs, heaskedustobi 
seated. On being asked for entertainment, he said, ' Gentlemen, I perceive you are traveling, and although I should bi 
gratified by your custom, it la my duty to inform you I have no hay nor grain. I have good pasture, but if hay and graii 
are essential, 1 can not famish them.* 

" There stood before us a major general of the Eevolution— the friend and confidant of Washington— late governor oi 
the Territory northwest of the River Ohio— one of nature's noblemen, of high, dignified bearing, whom misfortune, no 
the ingratitude of his country, nor poverty could break down nor deprive of self-respect— keeping a tavern in a loj 
house, but could not furnish a bushel of oata nor a lock of hay. We were moved principally to call upon him to bear bin 
converse about the men of the Revolution and of the Northwestern Territory, and our regret that he could not entertaii 
us was greatly increased by bearing him converse about an hour. The large estate he sacrificed for the cause of thi 
Revolution was within a short distance of the top of Chestnut Ridge, if not in sight. After he was governor he peti 
tioned Congress for relief, but died before it was granted."* 



* During the last two years of his life General St. Clair received a pension of sixty dollars a month from his govern 
ment, and his latter days were made comfortable thereby. About 18B6, Senator Brodhead, of Pennsylvania procurei 
from Congress an appropriation for the heirs of General St. Clair. ' 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 51 



Wayne in the Indian Country. A grand Council. Interference of British Officials. 

young Virginian soon exhibited qualities which caused Wayne to make him a mem- 
ber of his military family as his aid-de-camp. 

"Wayne remained at Legionville until the close of April, 1793, when his .whole force 
proceeded to Cincinnati in boats, and took post near Fort Washington. There they 
remained all the summer and until the 7th of October, when Wayne moved forward 
and encamped" six miles in advance of Fort Jefferson, on the site of Green- . „ . . 
ville. His army then numbered three thousand six hundred and thirty 
men, exclusive of a small body of friendly Indians from the South, chiefly Chootaws, 
under the eminent warrior. Humming-bird. 

While the army was making these tardy movements, the government was using its 
best endeavors to effect a pacification of the tribes, and to establish a solid peace 
without more bloodshed. These efforts promised success at times. With the aid of 
the pious Heckewelder, the Moravian, General Putnam made a treaty of peace and 
friendship with the Wabash and Illinois tribes, at Vincennes, on the 2Vth of Septem- 
ber, 1792. At about the same time great numbers of the tribes on the Miami, the 
Maumee (or Miami of the Lakes), and Sandusky Rivers, assembled at the Maumee 
Rapids to hold a grand council, at which Red Jacket, Cornplanter, Big Tree, the aged 
Guasutha, and other representatives of the Six Nations appeared, at the request of the 
Secretary of War. Simon Girty was the only white man present. The savages, on 
consultation, dietermined, in conformity with the adyice of the British, not to acknowl- 
edge any claim of the United States to lands northwest of the Ohio River. ^ 

In the spring of 1793 a commission was sent by the President to treat with the 
hostile tribes.'^ Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, of Canada, professing to be friendly, 
and favorable to a pacification of the tribes, the commissioners went by the way of 
Niagara, a post yet held by the British. Simcoe received them courteously, and hos- 
pitably entertained them for five or six weeks, while the Indians were holding another 
grand council at the Rapids of the Maumee. While tarrying there, the commissioners 
were informed by a Mohawk Indian from the Grand River that Governor Simcoe had 
"advised the Indians to make peace, but not to give up any of their tands."^ The 
commissioners called Simcoe^s attention to this. He did not deny the allegation, but 
replied, " It is of that nature that it can not be true," as the Indians had not " applied 
for his advice on the subject."* This subterfuge was well understood by the commis- 
sioners ; and his admission that, " ever since the conquest of Canada," it had been 
" the principle of the British government to unite the American Indians," was omin- 
ous of ulterior designs. 

At Niagara, and at Captain Elliott's,, near the mouth of the Detroit River, in Can- 
ada, the commissioners held councils with the Indians, but nothing satisfactory was 
accomplished. British influence was more powerful than ever, and the savages in 
council plainly told the commissioners that if they insisted upon the treaty at For t 
Harmar, and claimed lands on the northern side of the Ohio, they might as well go 
home, as they would never agree to any other boundary than that river. So the 
commissioners, after several months of fruitless labor, turned homeward late in Au- 
gust. It was evident that the might of arms must make a final settlement of the 
matter, and to arms the United States resorted. 

We left Wayne and his army near Fort Jefferson, eighty miles from Fort Washing- 
ton, on the 23d of October. He was then embarrassed by a lack of suflScient convoys 
for his stores. Already a party detailed for this purpose had been attacked and se- 

■ The sentiments of the Indians, even the friendly ones, concerning the boundary, may be inferred from the following 
toast given by Cornplanter, at the table of General Wayne, at Legionville, in the spring of 1793 : " My mind is upon that 
river," he, said, pointing to the Ohio. " May that water ever continue to run, and remain the boundary of lasting peace 
between the Americans and Indians on the opposite shore."— Halt-'s Memoir of W. H. Harrison, p. 31. 

s The commission consisted of Benjamin Lincoln, Beverly Eandolph, and Timothy Pickering. 

' Note of commissioners to Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, 7th June, 1793. 

* Reply of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe to American commissioners, 7th June, 1793. 



52 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Hostile Intentions of the British revealed. Allied Indians and British In Arms. Battle at Fort Recovery. 

verely handled by a strong band of Indians under Little Turtle near Fort St. Clair. 
Lieutenant Lowry and fourteen of his companions were killed,' and all the horses at- 
tached to the wagons were carried off. 

The season was now too far advanced to enter iipon a campaign, so Wayne set his 
army to building a very strong fort on the spot where he was encamped. It was 
made impregnable against the Indians. There they went into winter-quarters.^ Suf- 
ficient garrisons were placed in the forts at Vincennes, Cincinnati, and Marietta; and 
the return of spring was waited for with anxiety, for it was obvious that hostilities 
with the savages could not be long delayed. 

A European war, to which we shall soon have occasion again to refer, was now 
having its effect upon the United States, complicating the difficulties which natu- 
rally attend the arrangement of a new system of government. Ill feeling between 
the United States and Great Britain was increasing, and evidences were not wantino- 
that the latter was anxious for a pretense to declare hostilities against the foi-meh 
Taking advantage of this state of things, Lord Dorchester (formerly Sir Guy Carle- 
ton), the Governor of Canada, encouraged the Indians in maintaining their hostile at- 
' Fehniary 10, titude. At a council of warriors from the West, held at Quebec early in 
^™- 1794,^ Dorchester, m a speech, said, "Children, since my return I find 

no appearance of a line remains ; and from the manner in which the people of the 
states push on, and act, and talk on this side, and from what I learn of theii- conduct 
toward the sea, I shall not he mrprised if toe are at war with them in the course of the 
present year ; and if so, a line must then be drawn by the warriors.'" 

This was a suggestion for the savages to prepare for war. It was followed by an 
order from Dorchester to Lieutenant Governor Simcoe to establish a British military 
post at the rapids of the Maumee, fifty miles within the Indian country and the treaty 
limits of the United States. At the very time when this menacing attitude was as- 
sumed, the government of the new republic was exhibiting the most friendly feelings . 
toward that of Great Britain by a position of strict neutrality. 

Wayne was compelled to wait until late in the summer of 1-794 before he felt strono- 
enough to move forward. Meanwhile the Indians appeared in force. On the SOth of 
June, about a thousand of them, accompanied by a number of British soldiers and 
French Canadian volunteers,^ made their appearance before Fort Recovery (mention- 
ed m note 2 below), and during the day assailed the garrison several times During 
these assaults the Americans lost fifty-seven men in killed, wounded, and missing and 
two hundred and twenty-one horses. The Indians lost more, they said, than in their 
battle with St. Clair. 

'•'"itV' r, ^*^'^^l',^" ^ "^O"*'^ after this engagement, Wayne was ioinedt- by Maior 

™*- General Scott, with sixteen hundred mounted volunteers 'from Kentucky 

' July 28. and two days afterward" he moved forward with his whole force toward the 



f^ ni?- ^^LpY" ^"^ "^ " P""' "'"'"' " ™'<= '"'■°" ''"= «"" of Eaton, in Preble Conn- 
w?J^,r „rfl f ™ " '''J'^ ^"'^ " " '""'" cemetery, and therein, upon one of those 
;T. V. w f -T.™*^' '°°""°" "^ ^^'"' " ■""" monument of Rutland marble, 
For l.^n.f f "' '™' TS-'"" '"' "''= ""^^"'' '° commemoration of the slain al 
1 oit Kecoveiy. Lowry and his companions were buried in Port St Clair His re- 

TerZ wUh"th?r'' '" f' '""^^^-n^'^^y » the 4th of July, 1822, and there rein- 
te.refl with the honors of war. They were afterward buried in the mound. 

= Th s was called Port Greenville, and covered a large part of the site of the pres- 
ent village of Greenville. The soldiers built several hundred log huts, in v^^hich they 
wmtered comfortably. Each hut was occupied by six persons ° "''''' ™ "" ""=" ""'y 

From Port Greenville Wayne sent out eight companies, and a detachment of artil- 

To .r, s v,o.rM.«r ar^-Ive^d on'the'io'T "^ "f .'r*'^"" ^'"f ™'>«™ St.'ciair was defeated Thv 

arrived on the ground on Christmas-day, and proceeded to build a stron- stockade 

ered the territory lost by St Clair as^'^fl "sTlfbut ^e^'omeT^'' " TTr"™""" """^ fact th:t they\ad re o " 
pany each of artillery au'd rmZkVrflTtZTjTfJlon "'"' "" ""^ ''°™P''"^* '" '-™ •'*"^- ^ coni- 

tr:i";wi;;rt;::s^r^?T;;^d;^c;:^i^ssi^^ 

days before, saw a large body of I.dians,^at.rXrth~rd, w^m^'™ 




OP THE WAR OF 1812. 53 



Wayne's Expedition down the Maumee. His Offers of Peace rejected. Conduct of Little Tortle. 

Maumee. Admonished by the fate of St. Clair, he marched cautiously and slowly 
— so slowly and stealthily that the Indians called him The Blacksnake. Little Turtle 
was again upon the alert, with two thousand warriors of his own and neighboring 
tribes within call. The vigilant Wayne well knew this. He had faithful and compe- 
tent scouts and guides, and by unfrequented ways ,and with perplexing feints, he 
moved steadily onward, leaving strength and security in his rear. 

Twenty-five miles beyond Fort Recovery he built a stockade on the bank of the 
St. Mary's, and called it Fort Adams. From this point he moved forward on the 4th 
of August, and at the end of four days encamped on a beautiful plain at the conflu- 
ence of the Au Glaize and Maumee Rivers, on the site of the present village of Defi- 
ance. There he found a deserted Indian town, with at least a thousand acres of com 
growing around it.* There, as elsewhere on his march, the alarmed savages fled at 
his approach. He tarried there a week, and built a strong fortification, which he 
called Fort Defiance. Of this fort, and the appearance of its remains when I visited 
it in the autumn of 1860, 1 shall hereafter write; 

Wayne was now at the most important and commanding point in the Indian coun- 
try. " We have gained the grand emporium of the hostile Indians of the West without 
loss of blood," he wrote to the Secretary of War.* Apd there he gained .Aumetw, 
full and positive information concerning the character, strength, and posi- ™*- 
tion of the British military post at the foot of the Maumee Rapids already alluded to.^ 

Once more peace and reconciliation were offered to the Indians. Notwithstanding 
he was in possession of full power to subjugate and destroy without fear of the Brit- 
ish intruders below, Wayne, unwilling to shed blqod unnecessarily, sent a message to 
the Indians down the Maumee with kind words. "Be no longer deceived or led 
astray," he said, " by the false promises and language of bad white men at the foot of 
the Rapids ; they have neither the power nor the inclination to protect you." He of- 
fered them peace and tranquillity for themselves and their families, and mvited them 
to send deputies to meet him in council without delay. His overtures were rejected, 
and by craftiness they endeavored to gain time. " Stay where you are," they said, 
" for ten days, and we will treat with you ; but if you advance we will give you bat- 
tle." 

This defiance was contrary to the advice of the sagacious Little Turtle, who coun- 
seled peace. ^ For this he was taunted with accusations of cowardice. The false 
charge enraged him, and he was foremost in the conflict that immediately ensued. 
That conflict was unavoidable. The vigilant Wayne perceived that nothing but a 
severe blow would break the spirit of the tribes and end the war, and he resolved to in- 
flict it mercilessly. For thiS purpose his legion moved forward on the 15th of August, 
and on the 18th took post at Roche de Bout, at the head of the Rapids, near the pres- 
ent town of Waterville, and there established a magazine of supplies and baggage, 
with protecting military works, which they called Fort Deposit. There, on the 19th, 
Wayne called a council of war, and adopted a plan of march and of battle submitted 
by his young aid-de-camp. Lieutenant Harrison, who, nineteen^years afterward, as a 
general-in-chief, performed gallant exploits in that portion of the Maumee Valley.* 



1 "The very extensive and highly cultivated fields and gardens show the work of many hands. The margin of those 
beautiful rivers, the Miami of the Lakes [pronounced Maumee] and Au Glaize, appear like one continued village for a 
number of miles both above and belW this place ; nor have 1 ever before beheld such immense fields of corn in any 
part of America from Canada to Florida."— Wayhe's Later to the Secretarn of War from Fort Defiance, August 14, 1794. 

2 It was a strong work of earth and logs, mounting four 9-pounders, two large howitzers, six 6-po'unders, and two 
swivels. The garrison, under Major Campbell, a testy Scotchman, consisted of 260 British regulars and 200 militia. 

3 "We have beaten the enemy twice, under separate commanders," said Little Turtle, in a speech. "We can not ex- 
pect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. The night 
and the day are alike to him ; and during all the time that he has been marching upon our villages, notvrithstandlng 
the watchfulness of our young men, we have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something 
whispers me it would be prudent to listen to the offers of peace." 

* I am indebted to the Hon. John Francis Hamtramck Claiborne, of Mississippi, for the plan of the line of march and 
order of battle given in the text. In a letter to me, covering the drawings, dated " Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, August 



54 



PICTOE I AJ- FIELD-BOOK 



Battle of the Fallen Timbers. 



DeTastationa around Fort Miami. 



The Puniehment of M'Kee. 



On the morning of the 20th, at eight o'clock, 
Wayne advanced with his whole, army accord- 
ing to the adopted plan of march, having for 
his subordinate general officers Major General 
Scott, of the Kentucky volunteers, and Brig- 
adier Generals Wilkinson, Todd, and Barher. 
They had proceeded about five miles when 
the advanced corps, under Major Price, were 
terribly smitten by heavy volleys from the 
concealed foe, and were compelled to fall back. 
The legion was immediately formed in two 
lines, principally in a dense wood on the bor- 
ders of a wet prairie, where a tornado had 
prostrated a large number of trees, makiag 
the operations of cavalry very difficult. This 
fallen timber^ afforded an admirable covert 
for the enemy, who, full two thousand strong, 
and composed of Indians and Canadian volun- 
teers,3 ^^gre posted in three lines, within sup- 
porting distance of each other. Wayne's 
troops fell upon the foe with fearfiil energy, 
and made them flee toward Fort Miami like 
a herd of frightened deer to a covert. In the 
course of an hour the victory was complete. 
The mongrel horde were driven more than two miles through the thick woods, and left 
forty, of their number dead in the pathway of their flight. By the side of each body 
lay a musket and bayonet from British armories.* 

. Three days and three nights the victorious army remained below the Rapids, wield- 
ing the besom of destruction in defiance of the threats of the commandant of Fort 
Miami, within view of whose guns Wayne pitched his tents. On the site of the 
present Maumee City, tioned, and chief insti- 

near Fort Miami, Colo- j/ y^C^^ ii^^^ ^^ gator of the war, had 

nel M'Eee, the Brit- •^^^^■'^CfJi^rC^' t^^t^^C'-^'''''^ extensive store -houses 
ish agent already men- and dwellings, for he 

was carrying on a most lucrative trade with the Indians. These, with their contents, 
were committed to the flames, while every product of the field and garden above 
and below the British fort was utterly destroyed.^ Wayne's men sometimes ap- 




PLAK OF THE LINE OF UAEOH.l 



20, 1860," Mr. Claiborne remarks : f This day, si?ty-six years ago, was fought the great Battle of the Bapida. I send yoii 
the original ' Plan of the Line of March' and of the 'Order of Battle.' I found these diagrams among the papers of mj 
father, the late General Claiborne, who was in the battle, a lieutenant and acting adjutant in the First EegimenttTnitei 
States Infantry, Colonel J. F. Hamtramck. I found them in a package of letters ftom Harrison to my father, the ' Plai 
of the Line of March' indorsed, in my father's handwriting, ' Lieutenant Harrison's Plan, adopted in council, Augusi 
19, '94.' 

"Wayne, it appears, called a council of war on the 19th, and the plan, drawn np by Harrison, then a young man ol 
twenty-one years, was adopted by the veteran officers the moment it was submitted — an homage to skill and talent rareli 
awarded to a subaltern." 

I ExPLAHATioN OF THE Plan.— A A, two squadrous of expert woodmen ; BB, two squadrons of light dragoons; EE 
two companies of infantry front and rear ; G G, one troop of light dragoons on each Hank ; H H, one company of infan 
try on each ilank ; 1 1, one squadron of dragoons on each flank ; J J, two companies of riflemen on each flank ; E E, es 
pert woodmen on the extreme of each flank. P F F F represent the main army in two columns, the legion of regula 
troops on the right, commanded by General Wilkinson, and the Kentucky volunteers, under Scott, on the left. 

= This conflict is often called in history and tradition the Battle of the Fallen Timbers. 

' There were about seventy white men, including a corps of volunteers from Detroit under Captain Caldwell. 

• Among the oflicers mentioned by Wayne, in his dispatch to the Secretary of War, whose services demanded specii 
mention, were Wilkinson and Hamtramck ; his aids-de-camp De Butt, Lewis, and Harrison ; Mills, Covington of th 
cavalry, Webb, Slough, Prior, Smith, Van Rensselaer, Rawlins, M'Kenney, Brook, and Duncan. His loss in killed an 
wounded was 133. Of these, 113 were regulars. The loss of the enemy was not ascertained. In their flight they lei 
forty of their dead in the woods. 

' Wayne's dispatch to the Secretary of War fl-om Port Defiance, August 28, 1794. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



55 



The British and Indians humbled. 



Death of Turkey-foot. 



Scenes at the Place of his Death. 




PLAN Of THE liATTLE OF THE FALLEN TIMUEES. 



proaehed within pistol-shot of Fort Miami, but its 
guns prudently kept silence. Major Campbell, the 
commandant, contented himself with scolding and 
threatening, while Wayne coolly defied him and 
retorted with vigor. Their correspondence was 
very spicy, but harmless in its efiects. 

Among the brave warriors in the battle who was 
the last to flee before Wayne's legion, was Me-sa- 
sa, or Turkey-foot, an Ottawa chief, who lived on 
Blanchard's Fork of the Au Glaize River. He was 
greatly beloved by his people. His courage was 
conspicuous. When he found the line of the dusky 
warriors giving way at the foot of Presque Isle 
Hill, he leaped upon a small boulder, and by voice 
and gesture endeavored to make them stand firm. 
He almost immediately fell, pierced by a musket 
ball, and expired by the side of the rock. Long 
years afterward, when any of his tribe passed along 
the Maumee trail, they would stop at that rock, and linger a long time with mani- 
festations of sorrow. Peter Navarre, a native of that region, and one of General Har- 
rison's most trusted scouts during the War of 1812, who accompanied me to the 
spot in the autumn of 1860, told me that he had seen men, women, and children gather 
around that rock, place bits 

of dried beef, parched peas — — _ _ 

and com, and sometimes _^-__ ^^j^ 

some cheap trinket ujjon it, 
and, calling frequently upon 
the name of the beloved Ot- 
tawa, weep piteously. They 
carved many rude figures of 
a turkey's foot on the stone, 
as a memorial of the English 
name of the lamented Me-sa- 
sa. The stone is still there, 
by the side of the highway 
at the foot of Presque Isle 
Hill, within a few rods of 
the swift - flowing Maumee. 
Many of the carvings are 
itill quite deep and distinct, 
while others have been ob- 
literated by the abrasion of 
the elements. 1 Of this locality, so famous in the chronicles of the War of 1812,1 shall 
iiave more to say hereafter. 




TUBKET-FOOT S BOOK. 



' The above view of Turhmj-fooVs Rock is at the foot of the Maumee Eapids, looking up the stream. It is seen in the 
foreground, on the right, and over it the road passing over Presque Isle Hill. It was here, and farther to the right, that 
^he Indians were posted among the fallen trees. On the left is seen the Maumee, which here sweeps in a gi'acefnl curve. 
The point across the Maumee at the bend is the river termination of a plain, on which General Hull's army was encamp- 
ed while on its march toward Detroit in the summer of 1S12. There the army crossed the Maumee. 

Turkey-foot Rock is limestone, about five and a half feet in length and three feet in height. It is about three miles 
above Maumee City. In allusion to the event which the rock commemorates, Andrew Coffiuberry, of Perrysburg, in a 
poem entitled "The Forest Ranger, a Poetic Tale of the Western Wilderness of 1794," thus wrote, after giving an ac- 
count of Wayne's progress up to this time : 

" Yet at the foot of red Presque Isle 
Brave Me-sa-sa was warring still: 



56 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The Troops build Fort Wayne. 



Colonel Hamtramck. 



The humbled Indians sue for Peace. 




Having thoroughly accomijlished his work, Wayne returned with his army to Port 
• August 27 Defiance," while the Indians, utterly defeated and disheartened, retired to 

^^ ' the borders of Maumee Bay, in the vicinity of Toledo, to brood over their 
misfortunes and ponder upon the future. At the middle of September the victors 
moved from Defiance to the head of the Maumee, and at the bend of that river, just 
below the confluence of the St. Mary's and St. Joseph's, which form it, they built a 
strong fortification, and named it Fort Wayne. It was completed on the 22d of Oc- 
tober, and was immediate- 
ly garrisoned with infan- 
try and artillery, under 
Colonel Hamtramck.^ This 
accomplished, the remain- 
der of the troops left, some 
for Fort Washington, to be 
discharged from the serv- 
ice, and the others for Fort 
Greenville, where Wayne made his head-quarters for the winter. Thither deputa- 
tions from the various tribes Avith whom he had been at war came to Wayne, and 
agreed upon preliminary terms of peace. They well remembered his assurance that 
the British had neither the power nor the inclination to help them — an assurance 
verified by the silence of Fort Miami's guns. They promised to meet him in council 
early in the ensuing summer, for the purpose of forming a definitive treaty of peace 
between the United States and the Indian tribes of the Northwest. Faithful to their 
promise, chiefs and sachems began to reach Fort Greenville early in June. A grand 
council was opened there on the 16th of that month, and was continued until the 10th 

He stood upon a large rough stone, 
Still dealing random blows alone ; 
But bleeding fast — glazed were his eyes, 
And feeble grew his battle-cries ; 
Too frail his arm, too dim his sight. 
To wield or aim his axe aright ; 
As still more frail and faint he grew. 
His body on the rock he threw. 
As coursed his blood along the ground, 
In feeble, low, and hollow sound, 
Mingled with frantic peals and strong, 
The dying chief poured forth his song." 
Here follows "The Death-song of the Sagamore." 

' John Francis Hamtramck was a most faithful and useful officer. He was a resident of Northern New York when the 
Revolution broke out, and was a captain in the Continental army. He was appointed a major in the regular army of the 
United States in September, 1789, and was promoted to be lieutenant colonel commandant of the first sub-leoion in Feb- 
ruary, 1793. He commanded the left wing under General Wayne in the battle of the Maumee, in August, 1794, and held 
the rank of lieutenant colonel in the First Infantry in 179(j. He was retained as colonel on the reduction of the army in 
April, 1802, and on the 11th of April the following year he died and was buried at Detroit. 

While in Detroit, in the autumn of ISCO, I visited the grave of Colonel Ham- 
tramck, and made the accompanying sketch. It is In the grounds attached to 
St. Anne's Orphan Asylum, and between that institution and St. Anne's Church, 
both belonging to the Eoman Catholics. The monument over his grave and 
the grounds around it were much neglected. The former was dilapidated, the 
latter covered with weeds and brambles. The monument is composed of a 
light freestone slab, grown dingy from the effects of the elements, lying upon 
a foundation of brick. It bears the following inscription : 

"Sacred to the memory of John Fkancis Hamtkamok, Esq., Colonel of the 
First United States Regiment of Infantry, and Commandant of Detroit and its 
dependencies. He departed this life on the llth of April, 1803, aged 45 years, 
7 months, and 27 days. True patriotism, and zealous attachmeut to national 
liberty, joined to a laudable ambition, led him into military service at an early 
period of his life. He was a soldier even before he was a man. He was an 
active participator in all the dangers, difficulties, and honors of the Eevolu. 
tionary War ; and his heroism and uniform good conduct procured him the 
attention and personal thanks of the immortal Washington. The United 
States, in him, have lost a valuable officer and good citizen, and society a 
usefuil and pleasant member. To his family his loss is incalculable, and his friends will never forget the memory" of 
Hamtramck. This humble monument is placed over his remains by the officers who had the honor to serve under his 
command : a small but grateful tribute to his merit and his worth." 




HAMTEAMOK 6 TOMB. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 57 



Treaty with the Indians at Greenville. Peace eecnred. 

of August. Almost eleven hundred Indians were present, representing twelve tribes.^ 
A definitive and satisfactory treaty was signed by all parties on the 3d of August, 
and the pacification of the Indians of the Northwest was thereby made complete.^ 
By the operations of a special treaty between the United States and Great Britain, 
the Western military posts were speedily evacuated by the British, and for fifteen 
years the most remote frontier settlements were safe from any annoyance by the In- 
dians. This security gave an immense impetus to emigration to the Northwestern 
Territory, and the country was rapidly filled with a hardy population. 

' Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnoeee, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Miamie, Weas, Kickapoos, Piahlceshaws, 
EaskaBkias, and Eel Siver Indians. 

" After the treaty had been twice read to the Indians, and every section explained by General Wayne, that officer 
said; "Brothers, — All you nations now present, listen I You now have had, a second time, the proposed articles of 
treaty read and explained to you. It is now time for the negotiation to draw if) a conclusion. I shall, therefore, ask 
each nation individually if they approve of and are prepared to sign those articles in their present form, that they may 
l>e immediately engrossed for that purpose. I shall begin with the Chippewas, who, with the others who approbate the 
measure, will signify their assent. Tou, Chippewas, do you approve of these articles of treaty, and are you prepared to 
sign them? [A unanimous answer— yes.] Tou, Ottawas, do you agree f [A unanimous answer— yes.] Tou, Potta- 
watomies f [A unanimous answer— yes.] You, Wyandots, do you agree P [A unanimous answer— yes.] Tou, Dela- 
wares i [A unanimous answer— yes.] Ton, Shawnoese f [A unanimous answer— yes.] Yon, Hiamis, do yon agree ? 
[A unanimous answer— yes.] Tou, Weas? [A unanimous answer— yes.] And you, Kickapoos, do yon agree f [A 
unanimous answer— yes.] The treaty shall be engrossed ; and, as it will require two or three days to do it properly on 
parchment, we will now part, to meet on the 2d of August. lu the interim, we will eat, drink, and rejoice, and thank 
the Great Spirit for the happy stage this good work has arrived at." 

After the treaty was signed, a copy of it on paper was given to the representative of each nation, and then a large 
quantity of goods and many small ornaments were distributed among the Indians preseut. On the 10th, at the close of 
the council. General Wayne said to them: "Brothers, I now fervently pray to the Great Spirit that the peace now es- 
tablished may be permanent, and that it may hold us together in the bonds of friendship until time shall be no more. 
I also pray that the Great Spirit above may enlighten your minds, and open your eyes to your true happiness, that your 
children may learn to cultivate the earth and enjoy the fruits of peace and industry. As it is probable, my children, 
that we shall not soon meet again in public council, I take this opportunity of bidding you all aU affectionate farewell, 
and of wishing yon a safe and happy return to your respective homes and families." 

By this treaty the Indians ceded about twenty-five thousand square miles of territory to the United States, besides 
sixteen separate tracts, including lands and forts. In consideration of these cessions, the Indians received goods from 
the United States, of the value of $30,000, as presents, and were promised an annual allowance, valued at $9500, to be 
equitably distributed among all the tribes who were parties to the treaty. 




58 



PICTOBIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Organization of the new Government. 



Its Policy indicated. 



Its Power manifested. 



CHAPTER HI 



"Wliat constitutes a state? 



Men, who their duties know, 
But know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain i 

Prevent the long-aimed blow, 
And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain— 

These constitute a state." 



Sib Williau Jones. 




" There's a warfare where none but the morally brave 
Stand nobly and firmly, their country to save. 
'Tis the war of opinion, where few can be found, 
On the mountain of principle, guarding the ground ; 
With vigilant eyes ever watching the foes 
Who are prowling around them, and aiming their blows." 

Mbs. Daha. 

HILE the arm of military power was removing the remainB of a 
' hoary barbarism from the beautiful region west of the Allegha- 
nies, preparatory to the founding of great commonwealths there, 
the new national government was summoning its functions into 
energetic and beneficent action. Men were never called upon 
to perform duties of greater importance and momentous conse- 
quences. They were charged with the establishment of the for- 
eign and domestic policy of a nation, " not for a day, but for all 
ime." The President and the Legislature- felt the responsibility, and in solemn earn- 
istness they elaborated schemes for the tuture prosperity of the republic. 

The earliest efforts of Congress, after its organization, were directed to the arrange- 
ttent of a system of revenue, in order to adjust the wretched financial affairs of the 
ountry. Mr. Madison, the tacitly acknowledged leader in the House of Representa- 
ives, presented the plan of a temporary tariff upon foreign goods imported into the 
Jnited States, with provisions favorable to American shipping ; also a scheme of ton- 
lage duties, in which great discriminations were made in favor of American vessels, 
s well as those of France, Holland, Sweden, and Prussia, the only nations having 
reaties of commerce with the United States. An efficient revenue system was speed- 
ly adopted and put in motion, for the consolidated government possessed inherent 
ower to do so. 

This first practical exhibition of sovereignty by the central government of the 
rnited States opened the eyes of British merchants and statesmen to the fact that 
lie Americans had suddenly made a stride toward absolute iadependence-that their 
ommerce was no longer subjected to the caprice of foreign powers, nor neglected 
ecause of the disagreements and jealousies of thirteen distinct Legislatures They 
erceived that its interests were guarded and its strength nurtured by a central 
owcr of wonderful energy, and that the new republic had taken its place among 
le family of nations with just claims to the highest respect and consideration Other 
ations yielded the same recognition, and its future career was contemplated with 
ecuhar interest throughout the civilized world. 

While the House of Representatives was engaged on the subject of revenue the 
enate was occupied in arranging a judiciary system. A bill for the purpose 'was 
ffered m that body by Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut. After undergoinrsevrral 
mendments, it was concurred in by both houses of Congress, and a national judilkry 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 59 



The JuSiciary. Amendments to the Constitution. Cabinet Ministers. Eelatiohs with Prance and England. 

was established similar in all its essential features to that now in operation. It con- 
sisted of one chief justice and five associate justices, who were directed to hold two 
sessions annually at the seat of the national government. Circuit and district courts 
were also established, which had jurisdiction over certain specified cases. Each state 
was made a district, as were also the two Territories of Kentucky and Maine. The 
districts, excepting the two Territories, were grouped so as to form three circuits. A 
marshal and district attorney were appointed for each district by the President.* 

The subjects of revenue and judiciary being well disposed of, Congress next turn- 
ed its attention to the organization of executive departments. Only three — Treas- 
ury, War, and Foreign Relations — were established. The heads of these were styled 
Secretaries instead of MLaisters, as in Europe. The President of the United States 
was clothed with power to appoint or dismiss them at his pleasure, with the concur- 
rence of the Senate. They were designed to constitute a cabinet council, ever sub- 
ject to the call of the President for consultation on public afiairs, and bound to give 
him their opinions in writing when required. 

The attention of Congress was next turned to the amendments of the Constitution 
proposed by the people of the several states, which amounted, in the aggregate, to 
one hundred and forty-seven, besides separate Bills of Rights proposed by Virginia 
and New York. Sixteen of the amendments were agreed to, and twelve of them were 
subsequently ratified by the people and became a part of the organic law of the na- 
tion. The profound wisdom of the framers of the Constitution and its own perfection 
are illustrated by the fact that, of these twelve amendments, not one of tiem, judged 
by subsequent experience, was of a vital character. > . ' 

Before the adjournment of Congress on the 29th of September,* the Pre^i- ^ 
dent had appointed his Cabinet,^ and the new government was fairly set ia 
motion. Its foreign relations were, on the whole, satisfactory, and only in England 
were other than friendly feeling^ toward the United States manifested. These were 
met by corresponding ill feeling toward England on this side of the Atlantic. The 
resentments caused by the late long war were blunted, but by no means deprived of 
their strength ; and, finally, the fact that the British government still held possession 
of Western military posts within the boundary of the United States, and that from 
these had gone out infiuences which had involved their country in a bloody and ex- 
pensive war with the Indians, produced much irritation ia the American mind. This 
was intensified by the wounds given to their national pride by the British govern- 
ment, in so long refusing to negotiate a commercial treaty with them, and declming 
to reciprocate the friendly advances of the United States by sending a minister to re- 
side at the national capital. 

With their old ally, France, the most perfect friendship still existed, but it was 
destined to a speedy interruption. Events in that country, and the position assumed 
by the President of the United States in relation to them, caused violent animosity to 
take the place of cordial good will, and were among the causes which gave birth to 
parties in America whose collisions, for several years, shook the republic to its centre, 
and at times threatened its existence. The animosities of these parties^nd the col- 
lateral relations of national policy and events in France and England to them, will be 
found, as we proceed in our narrative, to have played an important part in the great 
drama we are considering, at the period immediately preceding and during the prog- 
ress of the War of 1812. 



1 John Jay, of New Yorlc, was appointed Chief Justice of the United States ; and John Eutledge, of South Carolina, 
James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, William Cashing, of Massachusetts, Robert H. Harrison, of Maryland, and John Blaii', 
of Virginia, were appointed associate judges. 

a Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury j Henry Knox, Secretary of War ; and Thomas Jeffer- 
son, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the duties of which were the same as now performed by the Secretary of State, or 
prime minister. The Navy Department was not created until 1798. Naval affairs were under the control of the Secre- 
tary of War. At that time the Attorney General and Postmaster General were heads of departments, but were not, as 
now Cabinet officers. Edmund Randolph was appointed Attorney General, and Samuel Osgood Postmaster General. 



60 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Heyolutionary Movements in Prance. Lafayette the Leader. Bxcitement in Paris. National Aseembl 

At the very time when the fruits of the American Revolution were exhibiting the 
ripeness in the forin of a free and vigorous nation full of jjromisej the Empire o 
France, made unsound to the core by social and political corruptions most foul, ws 
shaken by a moral earthquake — a revolution severe at the beginning, and terrible i 
its subsequent course. The French monarch was weak, his advisers were wickec 
and the dominant classes, through luxury and concomitant vices, were exceeding! 
corrupt. The good and the brave of the kingdom had long perceived the abyss o 
woe upon the brink of which their country was poised, and with a heroism which i 
the light of history appears almost divine, they resolved to sound the trumpet of pc 
litical reform, and arouse king, nobles, and people to a sense of solemn duty as mei 
and patriots. 

At the head of these brave men was Lafayette, seconded chiefly 'by the Duke d^ 
Rochefoucauld and M. Condorcet. They wished to obtain for France a Constitutioi 
similar to that of England, which they regarded as the most perfect model of humai 
government then known. They loved their king because of his many virtues, anc 
would have advised him wisely had their voices been permitted audience in the Tui 
leries ; but they loved Prance more than their king, and desired to see her crownec 
with true glory, based upon the welfare and prosperity of her people. To accomplisl 
this, they placed their hopes on a virtuous constitutional monarchy. 

For a long time Lafayette and his coadjutors had been elaborating their scheme 
A.t length, in the Assembly of Notables, in April, 1789, that champion of rational lib 
3rty stood up in his place and boldly demanded a series of reforms in the name of 
the people, one of which was a representative National Assembly. "What!" ex 
claimed the Count D'Artois, one of the king's bad advisers, "do you make a motion 
m the States General?" " Yes, and even more than that," quickly responded Lafay 
3tte. That more was a charter from the king, by which the public and individual 
iberty should be acknowledged and guaranteed by. the ftiture States General. The 
jroposition was received with unbounded enthusiasm. The measure was carried 
Early m May a session of the States General was opened at Versailles, and they con- 
itituted themselves a National Assembly. 

Now was the golden opportunity for King Louis. Slight concessions at that mo- 
nent might have secured blessings for himself and his country. But he heeded the 
(ounsels of venal men more than the supplications of his real friends. He opposed 
he popular will, and took the road to ruin. He ordered the hall of the National As- 
embly to be closed, and placed a cordon of mercenary German troops around Paris 
o overawe the people From that time until early in July the French capital was 
readfoUy agitated. Passion ruled the hour. The city was like a seething caldron. 
!-very one felt that a terrible storm was about to burst 

The National Assembly was now sitting in Paris, and thoroughly sustained by the 
jeople. They called for the organization of forty-eight thousand armed militia. 
Yithm two days two hundred and seventy thousand citizens were enrolled. A state 
layor was appomted by the town assembly, and the Marquis La Salle was named 
ommanaer«n-chief. 

T,?rtl?r*'^'.' T^ intercepted by the people by the arrest of royal couriers. 
Hen they demanded arms. An immense assemblage went to the Hospital of the 
nvahds on the 10th of July, and demanded from the governor the instaSLery to 
liem of all weapons there. He refused, and they seized thirty thousand muskets and 
^enty pieces of cannon. Then they visited the shops of the armorers and the de 
o^tory of the Garde-meuble, and seized all the arms found there 
Higher and higher rose the tide of revolution. The girdle of soldiers around Paris 
^as the chief cause for present irritation. The National Assembly sent a deputation 
) the kmg at Versailles to ask him to remove them. His good heart counsefed 00^ 
liance, but his weak head bowed to the demands of bad advisers "I alone have 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 61 



Excitement In Paris. Formation of a National Guard. Treachery at tlie Bastile. Tliat Prison destroyed. 

the right to judge of the necessity, and in that respect I can make no change," was 
the haughty answer of the king borne hack to the Assembly. This answer, and the 
dismissal of M. Necker, the controller of the treasury, and other patriotic ministers 
who favored reform, produced a crisis. 

Paris was comparatively quiet on the night of the 13th of July. It was the omin- 
ous lull before the bursting of the tempest. The streets were barricaded. The people 
formed themselves into a National Guard, and chose Lafayette as their commander. 
G-iin, sabre, scythe, and whatever weapon fell in their way was seized. Multitudes 
of men of the same opinion embraced each other in the streets as brothers, and, in 
an instant almost, a National Guard of one hundred thousand determined men was 
formed. 

The morning of the 14th was serene. The sky was cloudless. But storms of pas- 
sion were sweeping over Paris. The people were in motion at an early hour. Their 
"steps were toward the Bastile, a hoary state prison, which was regarded as the strong- 
hold of despotism. They stood before it in immense numbers. A parley ensued. 
The gates were opened, and forty leadiiig citizens, as representatives of the popu- 
lace, were allowed to enter. The bridges were then suddenly drawn, and volleys 
of musketry soon told a tale of treachery most foul. They were all murdered] 
That moment marks the opening of the terrible scenes of the French Revolution. 
With demoniac yells the exasperated populace dragged heavy cannon, before the 
gates, and threatened the destruction of the Bastile. The terrified governor displayed 
a white flag, and invited a second deputation to enter the gates. These shared the 
fate of the former ! The furious multitude would no longer listen to words of peace. 
They were treacherous all. A breach was soon made in the walls. The governor 
and other ofBcers were dragged to execution, and their heads were paraded upon 
pikes through the streets. The great iron key of the Bastile was sent to the City 
Hall.i The National Assembly decreed the demolition of the hated prison, and very 
soon it was leveled to the ground.^ Upon its site, now the Place de Bastile, stands 
the Column of July, erected by Louis Philippe to commemorate the Revolution in 
1830, which placed him on the throne. Lafayette sent the key of the Bastile to 
Washington, who placed it in the broad passage at Mount Vernon, where it still 
hangs. 

The National Assembly elected Lafayette commander-in-chief of the National 
Guard of all France, a corps of more than four millions of armed citizens. They 
voted him a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year, but, imitating Washington, he 
refused to accept any remuneration for his services. The humbled kmg approved his 
appointment, and the monarch, deserted by his evil counselors, threw himself upon 
the National Assembly. "He has been deceived hitherto," Lafayette proclaimed to 
the public, " but he now sees the merit and justice of the popular cause." The over- 
joyed people shouted " Long live the king !" and for a moment the Revolution seemed 
to be at an end and its purposes accomplished. 

But Lafayette, who comprehended the labors and the dangers yet to be encoun- 
tered, was filled with apprehension. The wily Duke of Orleans, who .desired the de- 
struction of the king for the base purpose of his own exaltation to the throne, was 
busied in sowing the seeds, of distrust among the people.^ The duke incited them to 
demand the monarch's presence at the Tuileries. Louis went voluntarily from Ver- 
sailles to Paris, followed by sixty thousand citizens and a hundred deputies of the 



1 For a pictare and description of this key, see Lossing's FleU-Booh of the ReaoMum, ii., 209. 

! A picture of the Bastile may be found In Lossing's Home o/)ro8/u»»i*m ami jJs.^esomtoM, p. 22^^^ 

3 "He does not. Indeed, possess talent to carry into execution a great project," said Lafayette to John Trunlhull, who 

was about to leave Paris, " but he possesses immense wealth, and France abounds In marketable talents. Every city 

and town has young men eminent for abilities, particularly in the law-ardent in character, eloquent, ambitious of dis- 

ttaction, but poor.'' Many of these were the men who composed the leaders in the Eeign of Terror, and reddened the 



streets of Paris with human blood. 



62 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



European War expect ed. Great Britain and Spain in Ul-hamor. Attempt to extort Jnstice from Great Britain. 

Assembly, and there formally accepted the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which 
was presented to him. The people were satisfied, and the duke was disappomted. 
Order reigned in Paris and throughout the kingdom. The bearing of these events 
upon our subject will be observed presently. 

At this time a general European war seemed inevitable. A long-pending contro- 
versy between Great Britain and Spain remained unsettled. It was believed that 
France, with her traditional hatred of Great Britain, would side with Spain. This 
alliance would menace England with much danger. At the same time, Spain, a de- 
clining power, would necessarily be much embarrassed by war. Viewing this situa- 
tion of affairs in Western Europe with the eye of a statesman, Washington concluded 
that it was a favorable time to urge upon Spain the claims of the United States to 
the free navigation of the Mississippi, concerning which negotiations had been for 
some time pending, and also to press upon Great Britain the necessity of complying 
with the yet unfulfilled articles of the Treaty of 1 783. Mr. Carmichael, the American 
Charg'e des Affaires at the Court of Madrid,i was instructed not only to press the 
point concerning the navigation of the Mississippi with earnestness, but to endeavor 
to secure to the United States, by cession, the island of New Orleans and the Floridas, 
offering as an equivalent the abiding friendship of the new republic, by which the 
territories of Spain west of the Mississippi might be secured to that government. 
At the same time, Gouverneur Morris, then in Paris, was directed by Washington to 
repair to London, and, with sincere professions of a desire on the part of the United 
States " to promote harmony and mutual satisfaction between the two countries," 
sound the British ministry on the subject of a full and immediate execution of the 
Treaty of 1783.2 

Morris had a formal interview with the Duke of Leeds, the Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs, near the close of March, 1790. He was received with cordiality, and was 
assured of the earnest desire of Great Britain to cultivate friendly relations with the 
United States, and the determination of the king to send a minister to America. But 
when Morris attempted to hold explicit conversation on the subject of his semi-offi- 
cial mission- he was met with evasion and reticence. It was immediately made evi- 
dent to him that there was real reluctance on the part of Great Britain to fulfill the 
stipulations of the Treaty of 1783, or to make a fair commercial arrangement, and that 
there was a disposition to procrastinate while the difficulties between Great Britain 
and Spain remained unadjusted. He found great misapprehensions existing in En- 
gland concerning the real character of the Americans and their government, even 
among the best informed. They overrated the importance to Americans of friendship 
with them. They believed that trade with Great Britain was of vital consequence 
to the Americans, and that the latter would make an international commercial treaty 
upon almost any terms to secure it With this belief, a committee of Parliament, to 
whom had been referred the revenue acts of the United States, acting under the ad- 
vice of the merchants of leading maritime towns of Great Britain, reported early in 
1790, in favor of negotiating a commercial treaty with the Americans, but with the 
explicit declaration that the commissioners should not " submit to treat" for the ad- 
mission of American vessels into any of the British islands or colonial ports. They 
actually believed that the necessities of the United States would make them acqui- 
esce in an arrangement so ungenerous and partial. 

While war with Spain seemed impending, the British ministers listened "compla- 
cently to what Morris had to say about the frontier military posts, the impressment 
of American seamen into the British naval service under the plea that they were sub- 

1 William Carmichael went to Spain with Minister John Jay, as secretary of legation, in 17T9, and when that flinction- 
ary left, Mr. Carmichael remained as Chmgi des Affaires. After the Treaty of Peace was signed in 1T8S, the Spanish gov- 
ernment reftased to acknowledge him as such, hut finally, through the agency of Lafayette, they reluctantly consented 
to do so. " 

s Washington's letter to GouYemeur Morris, October 13, 1T89. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812.- 63 



Discourtesy of the British Government. The Americans supposed to be dependent. A Change of Views. 

jeots of Great Britain, and the propriety of sending a full minister to the United 
States. 1 It was evident that the British were willing to allow their relations with 
the Americans to remam unchanged until they should have a definite perception of 
the course European affairs were likely to take. This evidence became more and 
more manifest in the autumn. The French government, embarrassed by its own 
troubled affairs, was disinclined to take part with Spain in its quarrel, and the latter, 
unable alone to cope with Great Britain, yielded every point in the controversy, and 
the dispute was settled. Relieved of this burden of perplexity, and regarding France 
as hopelessly crippled by her internal difficulties. Great Britain showed marked iadif- 
ference concerning her relations with the United States. Nothiag more was said 
about sending a minister to America, and Mr. Morris was ti'eated with neglect, if not 
with positive discourtesy. 

At the close of the year Mr. Morris left England. He had been there about nine 
months, endeavoring to obtain a positive answer to the simple questions. Will you 
execute the Treaty ? will you make a treaty of commerce with the United States ? 
At the end of that time the real views of the British government were as hidden as 
at the beginning. Ungenerous diplomacy had been employed all the time by the 
British ministry, while the American government was anxious to establish peaceful 
relations with Great Britain and all the world upon principles of exact justice. Its 
agents were unskilled in the low cunning of diplomatic art which at that time dis- 
tinguished every court in Europe, and they lost the game. Both the government and 
people of the United States felt aggrieved and indignant at the course of Great Brit- 
ain, and self-respect would not allow them to farther press the subject of diplomatic 
intercourse or treaty relations. They therefore resolved to pause in action until the 
republic should become strong enough to speak in decisive tones, and prepared to 
maintain its. declarations by corresponding vigor of action. 

Great changes are wrought by time. The march of stirring events in Europe 
now became majestic, for a new and important era was dawning ; and the dignity 
and importance of the republic beyond the sea was too apparent to the world to 
allow the British government to maintain its indifference much longer without evil 
consequences to itself Already France, Holland, and Spain, the real enemies of En- 
gland, had placed representatives at the seat of our national government, and British 
pride was compelled to yield to expediency. In August, 1791, George Hammond ar- 
rived in Philadelphia, clothed with full ministerial powers as the representative of 
Great Britain, presented his credentials, and was formally received. In December 
following, diplomatic relations between the two governments were established by the 

< Great Britain evidently apprehended an alliance of the United States with Spain, in the event of a war between the 
former and the latter power. Dorchester, the Governor of Canada, was employed to ascertain the disposition of the 
United States on that point. He accordingly asked permission to pass through New York on his way to England : and 
when it was readily granted, as he expected, he sent his aid-de-camp. Major Beckwith, to the seat of the United States 
government, under the pretext of making a formal acknowledgment, bnt really to seek information upon the subject in 
question. He first approached Mr. Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury. After expressing the thanks of Lord Dor- 
chester, he, with apparent unconcern, remarked that his lordship had reason to fear that the delays which Mr. Morris 
experienced in England would be attributed to a lack of desire on the part of the British ministry to adjust every mat- 
ter in dispute between the United States and Great Britain. In behalf of his lordship he was instructed to say, that 
there conld he no donbt, not only of the friendly feeling of Great Britain, but of a desire on her part for an alliance with 
the United States. Major Beckwith then spoke of the rupture between Great Britain and Spain, and expressed his pre- 
sumption that, in the event of war, the Unitted States would fiud it to their interest to take part with Great Britain. He 
then, in the name of Dorchester, disclaimed any influence, under British authorities, over the Indian tribes in the West. 
The President laid the matter before his Cabinet, and it was agreed to draw out from the major as much information 
as possible by treating him and his communication very civilly. But he obtained no information of importance. The 
matter was so transparent that no one was deceived. " What they [the ministers] are saying to you," jeffersoii wrote 
to Morris in August, " they are saying to ns through Quebec ; hut so informally that they may disavow it when they 
please: . '. .' Through him [Major Beckwith] they talk of a minister, a treaty of commerce, and alliance. If the object 
of the lattei: be honorable. It is useless ; if dishonorable, inadmissible. These tamperings prove that they view war 
as possible ; and some symptoms indicate designs against the Spanish possessions adjoining us. The consequences of 
their acquiring all the country on our frontier from the St. Croix to the St. Mary's are too obvious to you to need devel» 
opment. Ton will readily see the dangers which would then environ us. . . , We wish to he neutral, and we will be so, 
i/ they wtll exeaiie the Treaty fairly and attempt no conqueete adjoining w." 



64 



PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Efforts for the Establishment of the Public Credit. Hamilton's Protest against tampering with the National Honor. 



appointment of Thom- 
as Pinckney, of South 
Carolina, as American 
minister to tlie Court 
of St. James. ^ 

At about this time 
two violently antag- 
onistic parties had as- 
sumed definite shape 
and formidable pro- 
portions in the United 
States, the acknowl- 
edged heads of which 
were Alexander Ham- 
ilton and Thomas Jef- 
ferson, members of 
Washington's Cabi- 
net. On the former, 
as Secretary of the 
Treasury, devolved 
the important duty 
to arrange a plan for 





TyyiyCX^ Jl4^C^t^^^LJZ.^ 



the establishment of 
the public credit.^ Ow- 
ing to long delay, and 
doubts and discour- 
agements in the minds 
of the original holders 
of the evidences of the 
public debt, they had 
fallen into the hands 
of speculators at one 
sixth of their nominal 
value. It was there- 
fore argued that, in 
the liquidation of these 
claims, there should be 
a scale of depreciation 
adopted, thereby mak- 
ing a saving to the 
public ti'easury. 

Hamilton would 
listen favorably to 
no suggestions of 



that kind. With the sagacity of a statesman, the sincerity of an honest man, and the 
true heart of a patriot, he planted his foot firmly upon the ground of justice and 
honor, and declared that public credit could only be established by the faithful dis- 
charge of public obligations in strict conformity to the terms of the contract. These 
debts were originally due to officers and soldiers, farmers, mechanics, and patriotic 
capitalists, and were sacred in the estimation of honest men ; and it was no just plea 
for their whole or partial rej^udiation that speculators would profit by the honesty of 
the government. It was not for the debtor to inquire into whose hands his written 
promises to pay were lodged, nor how they came there.^ Upon this lofty foundation 
of principle Hamilton stood before hosts of his frowning countrymen, conscious of the 
importance of financial honor and integrity to the infant republic, and determined to 
secure for it the dignity which justice confers, at whatever cost of personal popularity. 
■• January 14, He accordingly presented to Congress,"' in an able report, a scheme " for 
^''"'' the support of the public credit," whose principal feature was the funding 

of tlie public debt — a plan proposed by him to Robert Morris as early as 1782. He 
also proposed the assumption by the general government of the state debts incurred 
during the war, amounting, in principal and interest, to over twenty millions of dol- 



' Thomas Pinckney -was born in Charleston, South Carolina, 23iJ of October, 1T60. He was educated in England. 
When the Revolution broke out he entered the military service, and was active until Gates's defeat near Camden, in 
August, 17S0, when he was made a prisoner. He was Gates's aid. He was chosen Governor of South Carolina in 1T87. 
In 1T112 he went as minister to England. In 1704 he was sent in the same capacity to Spain, to treat concerning the nav- 
igation of the Mississippi. At the beginning of 1812 the President appointed him to the command of the Southem divi- 
.sion of the army. After the war General Pinckney retired to private life. He died on the 2d of November, 1828, aged 
seventy-eight years. 

= The impoverished condition of the country, and the wants of the public treasury at that time, may be comprehended 
by the fact that, at the close of 1789, the Attorney General and several members of Congress were indebted to the pri- 
vate credit of the Secretary of the Treasury to discharge their personal expenses. Even the President of the United 
States was obliged to pass his note to his private secretary, Mr. Lear, to meet his household expenses, which was dis- 
counted at the rate of two per cent, a month. Members of Congress were paid by due-bills, which the collectors were 
ordered to receive in payment of duties.— Hamilton's History of the liepublic of the United States, iv., 48. 

3 Hamilton argued that, besides motives of political expediency, there were reasons in favor of his view " which rest 
on the immutable principles of moral obligation ; and, in proportion as the mind is disposed to contemplate, in the 
order of Providence, an ultimate connection between public virtue and public happiness, will be its repugnance to a vio- 
lation of those principles. This reflection derives additional strength from the nature of the debt of the United States. 
It was the pp.ioe op LimnTv. The faith of America has been repeatedly pledged for it, and with solemnities that o-ive 
peculiar force to the obligation." ^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 65 



Hamilton's Fioancial Scheme assailed. Banking Capital in the United States. A Decimal Currency adopted. 

lars. His scheme included the establishment of a national bank,^ a system of revenue 
from taxation, internal and external, and a sinking fund. 

This scheme — just, patriotic, necessary, and beneficial — was assailed with the great- 
est vehemence, and the discussions which it elicited, especially upon the subject of the 
assumption of the state debts, in Congress, in the public press, and in private circles, 
fearfully agitated the nation, and created the first regular and systematic opposition 
to the principles on which the afifairs of the republic were admiaiistered. Its propo- 
sitions, especially the one relating to the assumption of state debts, were regarded 
with alarm by the late opponents of the Constitution and a consolidated government, 
because of their tendency to a centralization of power, as giving an undue influence 
to the general government by placing the purse as well as the sword in its hands, 
and as being also of doubtful constitutionality. Many believed that they saw in this 
scheme great political evils, because it secured the financial union of the states, and 
nllght lead to the establishment of a government as absolute as a constitutional mon- 
archy. These suspicions were strengthened by the well-known fact that Hamilton 
regarded the British government as a model of excellence, and had advocated greater 
centralization of power, in the Convention of 1787. He was made the target for the 
shafts of j)ersonal and political malice, and his financial system was misrepresented 
and abused as a scheme for enriching a few at the expense of the many.- The war 
of opinion was fierce and uncompromising. 

While Washington took no part in the discussion of Hamilton's scheme, it com- 
manded his highest admiration, as the most perfect that human Avisdom could devise 
for restoring the public credit and laying the foundation of national policy. He pre- 
dicted gi'cat and lasting good from its adoption, and his prophecies were fulfilled. 
Confidence was revived, and that acted like magic upon industry; and then com- 

1 At that time the whole banking capital of the United States was only $2,000,000, invested in the Bank of North A m^- 
ica, established in Philadelphia by Robert Morris, chiefly as a government fiscal agent ; the Bank of Neio York, in New 
York City; and the Bank of Ma^ssachuse.ttf!, in Boston. In January, 1791, Congress chartered a national bank for the 
term of twenty years, with a capital of $10,000,000, to he located in the city of Philadelphia, and its management to be 
intrusted to twenty-five directors. It did not commence business operations in corporate foi-m until in February, 1794. 

The subject of currency had occupied the attention of the old Congress as early asl7S2, when Gouvernenr Morris pre- 
sented an able report on the subject, written at the request of Eobert Morris.* He proposed to harmonize the moneys 
of all the states. Starting with one ascertained fraction as a unit, for a divisor, he proposed the following table of 
money : Ten units to be equal to one penny ; ten pence to one bill ; ten bills, one dollar (about seventy-five cents of our 
present currency) ; and ten dollars, one cro^vn. Mr. Jefferson, as chairman of a committee on the subject of coins, re- 
ported a table in 17S4, in which he adopted Morris's decimal system, but entirely changed its details. He proposed to 
strike four coins, namely, a golden piece of the value of ten dollars, a dollar in silver, a tenth of a dollar in silver, and 
a hundredth of a dollar in copper. This report was adopted by Congress the following year, and this was the origin of 
our cent, dhne, dollar, and eagle. The establishment of a mint for coinage was delayed, and no legislative action on 
the subject was taken until early in April, 1792, when laws were enacted for the preparation of one. For three years 
afterward the operations of the mint were chiefly experimental, while in 
Congress long debates were had conceraing the devices for the new coins. 
The Senate proposed the head of the President of the United States who 
should occupy the chair of state at the time of the coinage. In the House, 
the head of Liberty was suggested, as being less aristocratic than the ef- 
figy of the President — less the stamp of royalty. The head of Liberty was 
finally adopted. During that interval of three years, several of the coins 
called " specimens," now so rare in cabinets, and so much sought after by 
connoisseurs, were struck. Of these the rarest is a email copper coin, 
known as the "Liberty-cap cent." The engraviug is from one in my pos- libeety oe^tt. 

session. The mint was first put into full operation, in Philadelphia, in 1T05. 

2 "The public paper suddenly rose, and was for a short time above par," says Marshall. "The immense wealth 
which individuals acquired by this unexpected appreciation could not be viewed with indifference." 

* Robert Morris had considered the subject for more than a year. As early as July, ITSl, he wrote to Benjamin Dud- 
ley, of Boston, an Englishman, requesting him to come to Philadelphia, that he might consult him about the coinage of 
money. In November Mr. Dudley was employed in assaying. Mr. Morris kept him engaged in experiments, and in the 
preparation of machinery for a mint. In these Mr. Dudley consulted Dr. Hitteuhouse and Francis Hopkinson. A coun- 
try blacksmith, named Wheeler, was employed to make the rollers for the mint, and it was July the following year be- 
fore any machinery was perfected. Mr. Morris labored hard to get the mint in operation, but without success. Finally, 
on the 2d of April, 1783, Morris was enabled to wi-ite in his diary, "I sent for Mr. Dudley, who delivered me a piece of 
silver coin, being the first that has been struck as an American coin." Mr. Dudley was installed superintendent of the 
mint, having charge, also, of the preparation of the paper moulds, etc., in the manufacture of the currency printed by 
Hall & Sellers, the printers of the Continental money. Finally, in July, Mr. Morris gave up the idea of establishing a 
mint, and Mr. Dudley, after delivering up the dies to him, left his service.— Eobeet Mokeis's Diary. 

E 




PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Mr. Jefferson in France. His Reception in New York. His Suspicions of former Colleagues and Compatriots. 



menced that wonderful 
development of material 
wealth which has gone on 
with few intermissions 
until the present time. 

While these discus- 
sions were at their height, 
Jefferson arrived at the 
seat of government, to as- 
sume the duties of Secre- 
tary of State. He had 
but lately returned from 
France, where he had la- 
bored for several years 
in the dijjlomatic service 
of his country. He had 




witnessed the uprising of 
the people there at the 
bidding of Lafayette and 
others a few months be- 
fore. The example of his 
own country was the star 
of hojje to the French 
revolutionists, and as the 
author of the Declaration 
of Independence, he was 
regarded as an oracle, and 
courted by the leaders of 
the constitutional party 
there. Fresh from the 
fields of political excite- 
ment in the French capi- 



tal, and his inherent democratic principles and ideas intensified and enlarged by these 
experiences, he came home full of enthusiasm, expecting to find every body in his own 
country ready to speak a sympathizing word for, and to extend a helping hand to the 
people of France, the old ally of Americans in their efforts to establish for themselves 
a constitutional government. 

But Mr. Jefferson was disappointed. When he arrived in New York, after a tedi- 
ous journey of a fortnight on horseback, he was Avarmly welcomed by the leading 
families of the city, and became the recipient of almost daily invitations to social and 
dinner parties. The wealthier and more aristocratic classes in New York, who gave 
dinner parties at that time, were mostly Loyalists' families, who remembered the 
pleasant intercourse they had enjoyed with the British officers during the late war, 
and had always regarded the British form of government as the most perfect ever 
devised. Free from political restraint, their conversation was open and frank, and 
their sentiments were expressed without reserve. Mr. Jefferson was continually 
shocked by the utterance of opinions repugnant to his faith, and in contrast with his 
recent experience.' 

Mr. Jefferson, who was sensitively and even painfully alive to the evils of despotism 
and the dangers of a government stronger than the people, took the alarm, and he 
became morbidly suspicious of all around him. The conservatism of Washington and 
his associates in the government, and their lack of enthusiasm on the subje'ct of the 
French Revohition, which so filled his own heart, were construed by him as indiffer- 
ence to the diffusion of -democratic ideas and the triumph of republican principles, for 
which the patriots in the war for independence had contended. He had scarcely 
taken his seat in the Cabinet before he declared that some of his colleagues held de- 
cidedly monarchical views, and it became a settled belief in his mind that there was a 
party m the United States constantly a,t work, secretly and sometimes openly, for the 
overthrow of republicanism. This idea became a sort of monomania, and haunted 
him until his death, more than thirty years afterward. 

Events in France soon began to make vivid impressions upon the public mind in 
America. The fears of Lafayette were realized. The lull that succeeded the tempest 
of 1-789, was only the precursor of a more terrible storm in 1 Y91, that shook European 
society to its deepest foundations, and, like the great earthquake of 1755 was felt in 
almost every part of the globe. ' 

' " I can not describe the -ivonder and mortification with which the table conversation filled me " Mr T.d-o 
"Politics was the chief topic, and a preference for a kindly oyer republican government wr'e,iflen,ltr°r'" f' 
sentiment. An apostate I could not be, nor yet a hypocrite ; and I found myself, for the molt narY the o, ?™" ' 
on the republican side of the question, unless among the guests there chanced to be some r^ember of thnt L'*T 
the legislative houses." This is the first mention that we any where find of a Eepublicau Party"n th°s coif t '' " 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 67 



Formation of the Jacobin Club in Paris. Demoralization of the National Guard. A ConBtitution granted to the People. 

Long before tlie meeting of the States-general at Versailles, forty intelligent men, 
■whose feelings were intensely democratic, who avowed their hatred of kings and 
their attendant titles and privileges, and who ridiculed and contemned Christianity 
as an imposture, had met in the hall of the Jacohin monks in Paris, and from that 
circumstance were called the Jacohin Cluh. In the commotions that attended and 
followed the destruction of the Bastile, this club had gained immense popularity. 
They now published a newspaper, whose motto was Libbett and Equalttt, and 
whose design was to disseminate ultra democratic doctrines, irreligious ideas, and a 
spirit of revolt and disaffection to the king. They became potential — a power in the 
state. Their influence was every where seen in the laxity of public morals. The 
church was polluted with the contagion. A refractory spirit appeared among the 
National Guai'ds, and the king and his family were insulted in public. 

Disgusted with these evidences of demoralization, Lafayette resigned his command 
of the National Guard, but resumed it on the solicitation of sixty battalions. He was 
exceedingly popular, yet he could not wholly control the spirit of anarchy that was 
abroad. The king, alarmed, fled in disguise from Paris. Terror prevailed among all 
classes. The flight of the monarch was construed into a crime by his enemies, and he 
was arrested and brought back to Paris under an escort of thirty thousand National 
Guards. He excused his movement with the plea that he was exposed to too many 
insults in the capital, and only wished to live quietly, away from the scenes of 
strife. 

The populace were not satisfied.- Led by Robespierre, a sanguinary demagogue, 
and member of the Constituent Assembly, they met in the Elysian Fields, and peti- 
tioned for the dethronement of Louis. Pour thousand of the National Guard fired 
upon them, and killed several hundred. The exasperation of the people was terrible, 
yet the popularity of Lafayette held the factious in check.' 

The Constitution was completed in September. The trembling king accepted it, 
and solemnly swore to maintain it. Proclamation of the fact was made throughout 
the kingdom, and a grand fSte, whereat one hundred thousand people sang and danced 
the Carmagnole in the Elysian Fields, was held at Paris, and salvos of cannon thun- 
dered along the banks of the Seine.^ 

There was wide-spread sympathy -in the United States with these revolutionary 
movements in France. The spirit of faction, viewed at that great distance, appeared 
like patriotism. Half-formed and half-und,erstood political maximSj floating upon the 
tide of social life in the new republic, began to crystallize into tenets, and assumed 
antagonistic party positions. The galvanic forces, so to speak, which produced these 
crystallizations, proceeded from the President's Cabinet, where Mr. Jefferson, the Sec- 
retary of State, and Mr. Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, were at direct vari- 
ance in their views of domestic public measures, and were making constant war upon 
each other. Jefferson, believing, with Thomas Paine (who now appeared in the field 
of political strife abroad), that a weak government and a strong people were the best 
guarantees of liberty to the citizen, contemplated all executive power with distrust, 
arid desired to impair, its vitality and restrain its operations. He thought he saw in 
the funding system arranged by Hamilton, and in the United States Bank and the ex- 
cise law — creations of that statesman's brain — instruments for enslaving tbe people ; 

1 "lam exposed to the envy and attacks of all parties," he wrote to.Washington, "for this single reason, that who- 
ever acts or means wrong finds me an insuperable obstacle. And there appears a kind of phenomenon in my situation 
—all parties against me, and a national popularity, which, in spite of every effort, has remained unchanged. . . . Given 
up to aU the madness of license, faction, and popular rage, I stood alone in defense of the law, and turned the tide into 
the constitutional channel." 
» Upon a tree planted on the site of the Bastae a placard was placed, in these words : 

" Here is the epoch of Liberty ; 
We dance on the ruins of despotism ; 
The Constitution is finished- 
Long live patriotism !" 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



68 

Jefferson makes War npon Ms OppopentB. His religiouB YiewB. Jefferson and J ohn Adams Antagonists in Opinion. 

and he affected to believe that the rights of the states and liberties of the citizens 

were in danger. ^ . • • j 4. • 

Hamiltonron the other hand, regarded the National Constitution as inadequate m 
strength to perform its required fiinctions, and believed weakness to be its most rad- 
ical defect: and it was his sincere desire, and uniform practice so to construe its pro- 
visions as to give strength and efficiency to the Executive in the admmistration of 

public affairs. , _ , . v.- 1 

Not content with an expression of his opinions, Jefferson charged his political op- 
ponents, and especially Hamilton, with corrupt and anti-republican designs, selfish 
motives, and treacherous intentions; and thus was inaugurated that system of per- 
sonal abuse and vituperation which has ever been a disgrace to the press and political 
leaders of this country. ' ' 1. t.- 

An unfortunate blunder made by John Adams, the Vice-President, at about this 
time, confirmed Jefferson in his opinions and fears. These men, compatriots in the 
events out of which the nation had been evolved, cherished dissimilar political ideas, 
and held widely differing religious sentiments. Mr. Jefferson was always a free- 
thinker, and his latitudinarianism was greatly expanded by a long residence among 
the contemners of revealed religion in France. He admired Voltaire, Kousseau, and 
D'Alembert, whose graves were then green ; and one of his most intimate compan- 
ions was the Marquis of Condorcet, who " classed among fools those who had the 
misfortune to believe in a revealed religion.'" He sympathized with the ultra Re- 
publicans of France, was their counselor in the early and later stages of the revolu- 
tionary movement of 1789, and opened his house to them for secret conclave. He 
was an enthusiastic admirer of a nation of enthusiasts. 

Mr. Adams, on the contrary, was thoroughly imbued with the political and reli- 
gious principles of New England Puritanism. He discpvered spiritual life in every 
page of the Bible, and accepted the doctrines of revealed religion as an emanation 
from, the fountain of Eternal Truth. His mind was cast in the mould of the English 
conservative writers, whom he admired. He detested the principles and practices of 
the French philosophers, whom Jefferson revered ; and, from the outset, he detected in 
the revolutionary movements in France the elements of destructiveness which were 
so speedily developed. These views were indicated in a letter to the Rev. Dr. Price, 
of England, acknowledging the receipt of a printed copy of his famous discourse on 
the morning of the anniversary dinner of the English Revolution Society in 1789, in 
which the preacher, accepting the French Revolution as a glorious event in the his- 
tory of mankind, said, " What an eventful period is this ! I am thankful that I have 
lived to see it ; and I could almost say, ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' ... I have lived to see thirty millions 
of people indignantly and resolutely spuming at slavery, and demanding liberty with 
an irresistible voice." 

To this Adams replied, " I know that encyclopedists and economists — ^Diderot and 
D'Alembert, Voltaire and Rousseau — ^have contributed to this great event even more 
than Sidney, Locke, or Hoadley ; perhaps more than the American Revolution : and I 
own to you I know not what to make of a republic of thirty millions of atheists. . . . 

1 Capeflgne, ii., 82. Mr. Jefferson's religious views, at that time, may be inferred from the contents of a letter written 
at Paris on the 10th of August, 178T, to Peter Carr, a young relative of Ms in Virginia, wherein he lays down some 
maxims for his future guidance. He enjoins him to exalt reason ahove creeds. " Question with boldness," he says, 
"even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason than of blindfold 
fear." He then advises him to read the Bible as he would Livy or TacitnB. "The facts which are within the ordinary 
coarse of nature you will believe on the authority of the writer, as you do those of the same kind in Livy or Tacitus." 
He then cautions him against a belief in statements in the Bible "which contradict the laws of nature." Concerning 
the New Testament, he said, " It is the history of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite pretensions, 
1, of those who say he was begotten of God, bom of a virgin, suspended and reversed the laws of nature at will, and 
ascended bodily into heaven ; and, 2, of those who say he was a man of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, enthusi- 
astic mind, who set out with pretensions to divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally fol seditlou 
by being gibbeted according to the Komau law." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



69 



An English Democrat's Discourse. 



Burke's Eeflections on the French Revolution. 



Paine's "Kights of Man." 



Too many Frenchinen, after the example of too many Americans, pant for equality of 
person and property. The impracticability of this, God Almighty has decreed, and 
the advocates for liberty who attempt it will surely suffer for it."^ 



1 See Letter to Richard Price, April 19, 1790, in the Life and Works of John Adams, ix., 663. 

Richard Price, D.D., LL.D., was an eminent English Dissenting minister, and at this time was preacher at the meet- 
ing-house in Old Jewry, London. He was then quite venerable in years, and with a mind as vigorous as when, in 1776, 
he wrote his famous "Observations on the War in America." He was an ultra democrat, and sympathized strongly 
with the French Revolution. He did not live to see that Revolution assume its huge proportions and hideous visage 
that BO terrified Europe, for he died in the spring of 1791. 

The discourse above alluded to was preached on the anniversary of the Revolution in 1688 (4th of November) which 
hurled James the Second from the throne. Dr. Price was an active member of the "Revolution Club," of which, at that 
time, the Earl of Stanhope was president. The discourse " On the Love of our Country" was preached before the mem- 
bers, and was subsequently printed. After alluding to the Revolution in France, he said, " I see the dominion of kings 
changed for the dominion of laws, and the dominion of priests giving way to the dominion of reason and conscience. 
Be encouraged, all ye friends of freedom and ^vl■iter8 in its defense ! The times are auspicious. Your labors have not 
been in vain. Behold kingdoms, admonished by you, starting from sleep, breaking their fetters, and claiming justice 
from their oppressors I Behold the light you have struck out, after setting America free, reflected to France, and there 
kindled into a blaze that lays despotism in ashes, and warms and illuminates Europe !" 

The Society, at that meeting, on motion of Dr. Price, agreed, by acclamation, to send, in the shape of a formal address, 
" their congratulations to the National Assembly on the event of the late glorious Revolution in France." This action 
and the discourse of Dr. Price produced the greatest agitation throughout England. Auxiliary clubs were speedily 
formed in various parts of the kingdom, encouraged by men like Dr. Priestley, the eminent Unitarian minister at Bir- 
mingham. Monarchist and Churchuian were greatly alarmed. The king was inclined to deny any more concessions to 
the Liberal party, making the Revolution in France a sufficient argument against reform in England, while the clergy of 
the hierarchy raised a cry that the Church was in danger from the revolutionizing and destructive machinations of the 
Dissenters. To the astonishment of all men, Edmund Burke raised his voice in the House of Commons in cadences 
never heard before from his lips. He had ever been the eloquent advocate of the rights of man. Now he declared that 
there was no such thing as natural rights of men, and he condemned the whole body of Dissenters in the strongest 
terms, as discontented people, whose principles tended to the subversion of good government. Nor did his denuncia- 
tions rest there. He professed to regard Dr. Price's sermon with holy horror, aud its author as a most dangerous agi- 
tator, and he brought to the task of disabusing the public mind of England concerning the real character of the revolt 
in Paris the whole powers of his mighty Intellect. In an almost incredible short space of time he wrote his famous 
"Reflections on the French Revolution," the publication of which produced a most powerful efl'ect. The king aud min- 
istry, and the Tory party, expressed unbounded admiration of this splendid de- 
fense of then- policy, while all just men agreed that it was a monstrous exagger- 
ation. It called forth many opposing writers— among them the powerful Priest- 
ley, the elegant Mackintosh, and the coarse but vigorous Paine. The war of 
words, and pen, and type was waged furiously for a long time, and satirical bal- 
lads and clever caricatures played a conspicuous part in the contest. 

Thomas Paine, who had been in Paris some time, and participated in some of 
the revolutionary scenes there, had lately returned when Burke's "Reflections" 
appeared, and he lost no time in preparing an answer, which he entitled "The 
Rights of Man." The first part was published on the 1st of February, 1791, and 
produced great disturbance. It was sought after with the greatest avidity, and in 
proportion to its success was the alarm and indignation of the Tory party. There 
was ample food for the caricaturists, and Gillray's pencil was active. Fox and 
Sheridan, who were the leaders of the opposition in Parliament, were classed 
among the leaders of the Revolution Clubs, and appeared in pictures with Priest- 
ley and Paine. In May, 1791, Gillray burlesqued Paine in a caricature which he 
entitled ' ' The Rights of Man ; or, Tommy Paine, the American Tailor, taking the 

Measure of the Crown for a new 
pair of Revolution Breeches." 
Paine is seen with the conven- 
tional type of face given by the 
caricaturists to a French demo- 
crat. His tri- colored cockade 
bears the inscription, "Tiwe la 
liberte .'" and from his mouth 

proceeds an incoherent soliloquy, as if from a man half drunk.* This 
was in allusion to his well-known intemperance. Paine was finally 
prosecuted by the government for libel on account of some remarks in 
his " Rights of Man," and was compelled to flee to France, where he was 
warmly received by the revolutionists. A Tory mob destroyed Dr. 
Priestley's church in Birmingham, and his dwelling and fine library a 
short distance in the country; also he and his family barely escaped 
with thoir lives. 





* The following is a copy of the soliloquy: "Fathom and a half! fath- 
om and a half I Poor Tom 1 ah ! mercy upon me ! that's more by half 
than my poor measure will ever be able to reach ! Lord 1 Lord ! I wish 
I had a bit of the stay-tape [allusion to Paine's former business of stay- 
maker] or buckram which I used to cabbage when I was a 'prentice, to 
lengthen it out. Well, well, who would ever have thought it, that I, 
A HAD MEASURE. who have served seven years as an apprentice, and afterward worked four 

years as a journeyman to a master tailor, then followed the business of 
an exciseman as mnoh longer, shouM not be able to take the dimension of this bawble! for what is a crown but a bawble. 



to PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Adams's "DiscoTU-ses on Davila." His Qpmions on GoYernment. Jefferson's Disgnst and Alarm. 

Mr. Adams had discerned with alarm the contagion of revolution which went out 
from Paris in the autumn of 118Q. He saw it affecting England, and menacmg the 
existence of its government; and he perceived its rapid diffusion in his own country 
with surprise and pain. It was so different in form and substance from that which 
had made his own people free, that he was deeply impressed with its dangers. With 
a patriotic spirit he sought to arrest the calamities it might bring upon his country, 
and with that view he wrote a series of articles for a newspaper, entitled " Discourses 
onDavila." These contained an analysis ofDavila's History of the Civil War in 
France^ in the sixteenth century. The aim of Mr. Adams was to point out to his 
countrymen the danger to be apprehended from factions m ill-balanced forms of gov- 
ernment. In these essays he maintaiaed that, as the great spring of human activity, 
especially as related to public life, was self-esteem, manifested in the love of superior- 
ity, and the desire of distinction, applause, and admiration, it was important in a pop- 
ular government to provide for the moderate gratification of all of them. He there- 
fore advocated a liberal use of titles and ceremonial honors for those in office, and an 
aristocratic Senate. To counteract any undue influence on the part of the Senate, he 
proposed a popular assembly on the broadest democratic basis ; and, to keep in check 
encriDachments of each upon the other, he recommended a powerful Executive. He 
thought liberty to all would thus be best secured.^ From the premises which formed 
the basis of his reasoning, he argued that the French Constitution, which disavowed 
all distinctions of rank, which vested the legislative authority in a single Assembly, 
and which, though retaining the office of kiag, divested him of nearly all actual power, 
must, in the nature of things, prove a failure. The wisdom of this assumption has 
been vindicated by history. 

The publication of these essays at that time was Mr. Adams's blunder.^ His ideas 
were presented in a form so cloudy that his political system was misunderstood by 
the many and misinterpreted by the few. He was charged with advocating a mon- 
archy and a hereditary Senate ; and it was artfully insinuated that he had been se- 
duced by Hamilton (whose jealous opponents delighted in pointing to him as the 
arch-enemy of republican government) from his loyalty to those noble principles 
which he had exhibited before he wrote his " Defense of the American Constitu- 
tions," published in London three years before. 

Those essays filled Jefferson with disgust, and he cherished the idea that Hamilton, 
Adams, Jay, and others were at the head of a party engaged in a conspiracy to over- 
throw the republican institutions of the United States, and on their ruins to construct 
a mixed government like that of England, composed of a monarchy and aristocracy.* 

1 BelV latoria delk Quern CivUi di Framcia, by Henrico Caterino Davila. 

2 This was only an amplification of tlie thonglit thus expressed in his Defense of the American Constitutions: "It is 
denied that the people are the best keepers, or any keepers at all, of their own liberties, when they hold collectively, or 
by representative, the executive and judicial power, or the whole uncontrolled legislature." He did not believe in the 
efficiency or safety of a government formed upon the simple plan of M. Thurgot and other clear-minded men of France, 
in which all power was concentrated in one body directly represeiiting the nation. That was the doctrine and the prac- 
tice of the French revolutionists, enforced by the logic of Condorcet and the eloquence of Mirabeau. Mr. Adams wished 
a system of checks and balances, which experience has proved to be the wisest. 

' They were published in the Gazette of the United States, at Philadelphia, then the seat of the national government. 
Their more Immediate object was a reply to Condorcet's pamphlet, entitled Quatre Lettres d^un Bourgeois de Sew Haven, 
s/wr V Unite de la Legislation. Mr. Adams soon perceived that his essays were furnishing the partisans of the day with 
too much capital for immediate use in the conflict of opinion then raging, and ceased writing before they were com- 
pleted. Twenty years later, when a.new edition was published, Mr. Adams wrote, "This dull, heavy volume still excites 
the wonder of its author— first, that he conld find, amidst the constant scenes of bnsiness and dissipation in which he 
was enveloped, time to write it ; secondly, that he had the courage to oppose and publish his own opinions to the uni- 
versal opinion of America, and indeed of all mankind, Not one man in America then believed him. He knew not one, 
and has not heard of one since, who then believed him.— J. A., 1812." 

4 " The Tory paper, Fenno's," he wrote to Mr. Short, in Paris, "rarely admits any thing which defends the present form 



which we may see in the Tower for sixpence apiece f Well, although it may be too large for a tailor to take measure 
of, there's one comfort— he may make mouths at it, and call it as many names as he pleases I And yet, Lord ! Lord ! I 
should like to make it a Taukee-doodle night-cap and breeches, if it was not so d— d large, or I had stuflT enough. Ah ! 
if I could once do that, I would soon stitch up the month of that barnacled Edmnnd from making any more Seflectians 
upon the Flints. And so. Flints and Liberty forever, and d— n the Dungs ! Huzza 1" 



OF THE WAR OF- 1812. 71 



Effect of Paine's ' ' Eights of Man." Fe ad between Jefferson and Hamilton. Newspaper War. 

To thwart these fancied designs, and to inculcate the doctrines of the French Revo- 
lution which he so much admired, and on which he grounded his hopes of a staMe 
government in his own country,' Jefferson hastened to have printed and circulated 
Thomas Paine's famous reply to Burke's " Reflections on the French Revolution," 
called " The Rights of Man," which had just heen received from England. That 
essay, originally dedicated " To the President of the United States," was admired by 
Jefferson, and it was issued from the Philadelphia press, with a complimentary note 
from him. 

This apparent indorsement of the essay by the government, in the persons of tljie 
President and Secretary of State, was very offensive to Great Britain, and produced 
a good deal of stir in the United States. Major Beckwith, the aid-de-camp of Lord 
Dorchester, already mentioned,^ was in Philadelphia at that time, and expressed his 
surprise ; but subsequent assurances that the President knew nothing of the dedica- 
tion, and that Mr. Jefferson " neither desired nor expected" to have the note printed, 
soon smoothed the ripple of dissatisfaction so far as the British government was con- 
cerned.^ 

The political and personal feud between Jefferson and Hamilton became more in- 
tense every hour. Freneau's United States Gazette, believed to be under the control 
of the former, was filled with bitter denunciations of Hamilton and the leading meas- 
ures of the administration ; and Fenno's National Gazette, the supporter of the gov- 
ernment policy, was made spicy by Hamilton's vigorous retorts.* The public miud 
was greatly excited thereby, and Washington was compelled to perceive (as he did 
with alarm and mortification) that there was a schism in his Cabinet, which threat- 
ened to be destructive of all harmony of action, and perilous to the public good. He 
anxiously sought to end the strife by assuming the holy office of peace-maker, but in 

of government in opposition to his desire of subverting it, to make way for a king, Lords, and Commons. There are 
high names here in favor of this doctrine . . . Adams, Jay, Hamilton, Knox, and many of the Cincinnati. The second 
says nothing ; the third is open. Both are dangerous. They pant after union with England, as the power which is to 
support their projects, and are most determined Anti-Gallicans. It is prognosticated that our republic is to end with 
the President's life ; but I believe they vrill find themselves all head and no body." 

1 "Yon will have heard," Mr. Jefferson wrote to Edward Eutledge in August, 1T91, " before this reaches you, of the 
peiU into which the French Revolution Is brought by the flight of their king. Such are the fruits of that form of gov- 
ernment which heaps importance on idiots, and which the Tories of the present day are trying to preach into our favor. 
I still hope the French Eevolution will issue happily. I feel that the permanence of our own leans in some degree on 
that, and that a failure there would be a powerful argument to prove that there must be a failure here." 

2 See note 1, page 63. 

3 The political sentiments of Paine's nights of Man were in accordance with the feelings and opinions of the great 
body of the American people. The author sent fifty copies to Washington, who distributed them among his friends. 
His ofiicial position cautioned him to be prudently silent concerning the work. Eichard Henry Lee, to whom Washing- 
ton gave a copy, said, in his letter acknowledging the favor, " It is a performance of which any man might be proud ; 
and I most sincerely regret that our country could not have offered sufficient inducements to have retained, as a perma- 
nent citizen, a man so thoroughly republican in sentiment and fearless in the expression of his opinions." See Lossing's 
Bmim of WaahingUm, or Mount Venwn and its Assodatiims, p. 262. 

The note alluded to in the text was from Mr. Jefferson to a stranger to him (Jonathan Bayard Smith), to whom the 
owner of Paine's pamphlet, who lent it to the Secretary of State, desired him to send it. " To take off a little of the 
dryness of the note," Mr. Jefferson made some complimentary observations concerning the pamphlet, and expressed 
his satisfaction that something public would be said, by its publication, ' ' against the political heresies which had lately 
sprung up." To the astonishment of Mr. Jefferson, this private note was printed with the pamphlet the next week. 
Mr. Jefferson acknowledged that his remarks in it were aimed at the author of the Discourses on Davila, and the affair 
produced a temporary estrangement between him and Mr. Adams. 

Warm discussions arose, soon after the publication of Paine's pamphlet, on the doctrines which it promulgated. A 
series of articles in reply to the ' ' Eights of Man" appeared in the Boston Cmtind, over the signature of Puilicola, which 
were attributed to John Adams, and were reprinted in London, in pamphlet form, with his name on the title-page. 
They were written by his son, the late John Qnincy Adams. They were answered by several writers. "A host of 
champions," Jefferson wrote to Paine, "entered the arena immediately in your defense." 

* Philip Freneau, a poet of some pretensions, and a warm Whig writer during the Eevolution, was called from New 
Tork, where he was editing a newspaper, to fill the post of translating clerk in the State Department under Mr. Jeffer- 
son. A new paper, called The National Gazette., opposed to the leading measures of the administration, was started, and 
Freneau was made its editor. It was understood to be Mr. Jefferson's " organ," but it would be both ungenerous and 
unjust to believe that tte bitter attacks made upon all the measures of the administration were approved by Mr. Jeffer- 
son ; yet, when the Secretary well knew that the President, whom he professed to revere, was greatly hurt and annoyed 
by them, it was, as Mr. Irving justly remarks (iy« of Washington, v., 164), " rather an ungracious determination to keep 
the barking cur in his employ." Fenno published the United States Gazette, the supporter of the measures of the admin- 
istration. 



Y2 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



FederaliBtsandKepubUcanB. Their Differences. Popular Sentiment. Earope against France. 

vaiii.1 The antagonisms of the Secretaries had become too violent to be easily recon- 
ciled. Their partisans were numerous and powerful, and had become arranged in 
tangible battle order, under the respective names of Federalists and Bepublioans— 
names which for many years were significant of opposing opinions : first, concernmg 
the administration of the national government; secondly, on the question of a neutral 
policy toward the warring nations of Europe; and, thirdly, on the subject of the war 
with Great Britain declared in 1812. 

The Federalists, called the " British party" by their opponents, were in favor of a 
strong central government, and were very conservative. They were in favor of main- 
taining a strict neutrality concerning the aflfairs of European nations during the ex- 
citing period of Washington's administration, and were opposed to the War of 1812. 
The Republicans, called the " French party," were favorable to a strong people and a 
weak government, sympathized warmly with the French revolutionists, and urged 
the government to do the same by public expressions and belligerent acts if necessary, 
and were favorable to the War of 1812 when it became an apparent national neces- 
sity. Federal and JRepublican were the distinctive names of the two great political 
parties in the United States during the first quarter of a century of the national ex- 
istence, when they disappeared from the politician's vocabulary. New issues, grow- 
ing out of radical changes in the condition of the country, produced coalitions and 
amalgamations by which the identity of the two old parties was speedily lost. 

The zeal of the opposing parties was intensified by events in Europe during the 
summer and autumn of 1792 ; and at the opening of the last session of the second Con- 
gress, in November, the party divisions were perfectly distinct in that body. * 

All Europe was now efiervescing with antagonistic ideas. The best and wisest 
men stood in wonder and awe in the midst of the upheaval of old social and political 
systems. Popular sentiment in the United States was mixed in character, and yet 
crude in form, and for a while it was difficult to discern precisely in what relation it 
stood to the disturbed nationalities of Europe. The blood of nearly all of them 
coursed in the veins of the Americans ; and notwithstanding a broad ocean, and per- 
haps more than a generation of time, separated the most of them from the Old World, 
they experienced lingering memories or pleasant dreams of Fatherland. 

France, the old ally and friend of the United States, was the centre of the volcanic 
force that was shaking the nations. The potentates of Europe, trembling for the 
stability of their thrones, instinctively arrayed themselves as the implacable enemies 
of the new power that held the sceptre of France, and disturbed the political and 
dynastic equilibrium. They called out their legions for self-defense and to utter a 
solemn protest. The people were overawed by demonstrations of power. The gleam 
of bayonets and the roll of the drum met the eye and ear every where, and in the 
autumn of 1*792 nearly all Europe was rising in arms against France. 

Revolution had done its work nobly, wisely, and successfully in the United States, 
and the experiment of self-government was working well. The memory of French 
arms, and men, and money that came to their aid in their struggle for liberty, filled 
the hearts of the Americans with gratitude, for they were not, as a people, aware of 

• Angnst 23 ' ■^°"' ™™isters discharged their respective duties to the entire satisfaction of the President, and he 
1192. ' '^'' greatly disturbed by their antagonisms, now become public. To Jefferson he wrote," after referring 
to the Indian hostilities, and the possible intrigues of foreigners to check the prosperity of the United 
States, "How unfortunate, and how much to be regretted is it, that while we are encompassed on all sides by armed en- 
emies and insidious friends, internal dissensions should be harrowing and tearing our vitals. . . . My earnest wish and 
my fondest hope, therefore, is that, instead of wounding suspicions and irritating charges, there may be liberal allow- 
ances, mutual forbearances, and temporizing yieldings on all sides. Under the exercise of these, matters will go on 
smoothly, and, if possible, more prosperously. Without them, every thing must rub j the wheels of government will 
dog, our enemies will triumph, and, by throwing their weight into the disaffected scale, may accomplish the ruin of the 
goodly fabric we have been erecting." 

Washington wrote to Hamilton in a similar strain, and from both he received patriotic replies. But the fend was too 
deep-seated to be healed. Jefferson would yield nothing. He harbored an implacable hatred of Hamilton whom he 
had scourged into active retaliation, and whose lash he felt most keenly. ' 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 73 



Washington's Wisdom and Prudence. Sympathy with the French EevoMionlsts. Anarchy in France. 

the utterly selfish motive of the Bourbon in giving that aid, and how little it had 
really contributed to their success in that struggle ; and their own zeal for freedom, 
while enjoying the fruition of their efibrts, awakened their warmest sympathies for 
those yet in the toils of slavery. Without inquiring, they cheered on the people of 
France, who were first led by the beloved Lafayette ; and with corresponding de- 
testation, heightened by the memory of old wrongs and the irritations of present un- 
friendliness, they saw Great Britain, so boastful of liberty, arrayed against the French 
people in their professed struggle for the establishment of a constitutional govern- 
ment like that of England. 

But there were wise, and thoughtful, and prudent men in the United States and in 
Great Britain, who had made the science of government their study and human nature 
their daily reading, who clearly perceived the vast diiference between the revolutions 
in America and France, and thought they observed in the latter no hope for the real 
benefit and prosperity of the people. These, in the United States, formed the leaders 
of the Federal or conservative party. Washington had hailed with great satisfaction 
the dawning of what he hoped to be the day of liberty in France, but, from the begin- 
ning, his own sagacity, and the gloomy forebodings manifested by Lafayette from time 
to time in his letters, made him doubtful of the success of the movement. He often 
expressed an earnest wish that republicanism might be established in France, but 
never breathed a hope, because he never felt it. And when, in the summer of 1792, 
he perceived the bloody and ferofiious character of the French Revolution, and the 
departure of its course from the high and honorable path marked out for it by Lafay- 
ette and his compatriots, he and the conservative party, then fortunately holding the 
reins of executive and legislative power, resolved that the government of the United 
States should stand aloof from all entanglements with European politics. 

Jefierson and his party, on the other hand, deeply sympathized with the French 
revolutionists, and bore intense enmity toward Great Britain. They were greater in 
numbers than the Federalists, and their warfare was relentless. They denounced 
every man and measure opposed to their own views with a fierceness and lack of 
generosity that appears almost incredible, and they shut their ears to the howling of 
that lawless violence that had commenced drenching the soil of France in blood. 
Even the dispatches of government agents abroad were sneered at as instruments of 
needless alarm, if not something worse. ^ 

But " the inexorable logic of events" soon revealed to the people of the United 
States those terrible aspects of the French Revolution which made them for a mo- 
ment recoil with horror. Anarchy had seized unhappy France, and the ferocious Jac- 
obin Club reigned supreme in Paris. They were the enemies of the king and Consti- 
tution, and were determined to overthrow both. Licited by them, the populace of 
Paris, one hundred thousand in number, professedly incensed because the kiag had 
refused to sanction a decree of the National Assembly against the priesthood, and 
another for the establishment of a camp of twenty thousand men near Paris, marched 
to the Tuileries* with pikes, swords, muskets, and artillery, and demanded . j^^^ jq^ 
entrance. The gates were thrown open, and forty thousand armed men, i^^^- 
many of them the vilest sans-culottes of the streets of Paris, went through the palace, 
and compelled the king, in the presence of his family, to put the bonnet rouge, or red 
cap of liberty, upon his head. 

Lafayette was then at the head of his army at Maubeuge, a fortified town in the 
Department of the Iforth. He hastened to Paris, presented himself at the bar of the 

> Gonvemeur Morris, who had heen appointed minister to France after Jefferson left, kept Washington continually 
informed of the scenes of anarchy and licentiousness in the French capital, and presented gloomy prognostications re- 
specting the future of that country. Because of this faithfulness, and his testimony against the tendency of the French 
Revolution, Mr. Jefferson, in his Wind devotion to that cause, and his ungenerous judgment concerning all who differed 
ftom him, spoke of Morris as " as a high-flying monarchy-man, shutting his eyes and his faith to every fact against his 
wishes, and believing every thing he desired to be true." 



H 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Lafayette before the National Assembly. 



He demands tlie Pnnlshment of Traitors. 



Frencb Paper-money. 




National AssemWy, and in the name, of the army demanded the punishment of those 
who had insulted the king and his family in the palace and violated the Constitution. 
But Lafayette was powerless. Paris was drunk with passion and unrestrained license. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. >J5 



Monarchy in France OTerthrown. Lafayette ImpriBoned. The National Convention established. 

The doom of royalty was decreed. The populace and members of the Assembly de- 
manded the deposition of Louis. The sittings of the Assembly were declared perma- 
nent until order should be restored. At midnight' the dreadful tocsin, or . Angnst 9, 
alarm-bell, was sounded, and the drums beat the generale in every direc- "^■ 
tion. The streets were filled with the mad populace, and in the morning the Tuileries 
were attacked by them. The king, attended by the Swiss Guard, fled to the National 
Assembly for protection. Nearly every man of the guard was butchered. The mon- 
arch escaped unhurt, but the overawed Assembly decreed the suspension of the royal 
authority. 1 Monarchy in France was virtually overthrown, and with it fell Lafayette 
and the constitutional party. The Jacobins of the Assembly procured a decree for 
the arrest of the marquis. He and a few friends turned their faces toward Holland 
as a temporary refuge from the storm until they could escape to the United States. 
They were arrested on the way, and for three years Lafayette was entombed in an 
Austrian dungeon at Olmutz, while pretended republicans, with bloody hands, were 
holding the uncertain and slippery reins of anarchical power in his beloved France. 

The Jacobins were not satisfied with the suspension of the king's authority. They 
felt unsafe while he lived. They conspired against his life and the lives of all who 
might sympathize with him. They filled the prisons with priests and nobles^ and 
other suspected persons. These men were dangerous while their pulses beat health- 
ily. Their prisons became human slaughter-houses. Thither thS demoniac ^ 
populace were sent on the evening of the 2d of September,'' and before the 
dawn, at least eighteen hundred persons were slain ! 

The conspirators now took bolder steps. They abolished the Constituent Assem- 
bly, and constituted themselves a National Convention. The Hall of the Tuileries 
was their meeting-place, and there, in the palace of the kings, they assumed the ex- 
ecutive'powers of government. They decreed the abolition of royalty, and proclaimed 
France a republic." With wonderfixl energy they devised and put in o September 23, 
motion schemes of conquest, and propagandism. They assumed to be ■'™^' 

the deliverers of the people of Europe from kingly rule. Frontier armies, with the 
aid of paper-money alone,^ were speedily put in motion to execute the decree of Dan- 
ton and his fellow-regicides that " there must be no more kings in Europe." They 
invaded Belgium and Savoy, and conquered Austrian Netherlands. At the sound 
of the Marseilles Hymn, sung by these knights-errant of the new chiValry, the people 
flocked to the standards of revolt.^ 

1 The king wrote a touching letter to his brother, dated " August 12, 1792, seven o'clock in the morning." The follow- 
ing is a copy : 

"My brother, I am no longer king ; the pnblic voice will make known to yon the most cruel catastrophe. I am the 
most unfortunate of husbands and of fathers. I am the victim of my own goodness, of fear, of hope. It is an impene- 
trable mystery of iniquity. They have bereaved me of every thing. They have massacred my faithful subjects. I have 
been decoyed by stratagem far from my palace, and they now accuse me ! I am a captive. They drag me to prison, and 
the queen, my children, and Madame Elizabeth [his sister] share my fate. 

"I can no longer doubt that I am an object odious in the eyes of the French, led astray by prejudice. This is the 
stroke which is most insupportable. My brother, but a little while, and I shall exist no longer. Eemember to avenge 
my memory by publishing how much I loved this ungrateful people. Becall one day to their remembrance the wrongs 
they have done me, and tell them I forgave. Adieu, my brother, for the last time." 

This letter was sent in a bit of bread to a friend of the king. It was intercepted, and never reached his brother.— 
Coj-respojMfence o/ioMts XF7., iram«tofed 6?/ Helen Maeia Williams, iii., 45. 

' This paper-money, a specimen of which is given on page 74, was called Asaignat, It was first issued in 1789, and the 
liasis for its 'credit was the property of the clergy and the emigrants, which the government had seized, and which was 
intended for sale. For three years it held a market value of over ninety per cent., but in 1792 it began to depreciate, and, 
like our ovra Continental money, soon became worthless. The first issue was to the amount of about $200,000,000. The 
amount that was finally put in circulation was about $1,750,000,000. This paper-money, which for a season played so 
important a part in the history of the world, was productive of the greatest evils. Specimens of it are now rarely to be 
found. The engraving represents one in the author's possession. 

3 In the National Convention, on the 28th of September, Danton declared, amid the loud applauses of the assembly, 
that " the principle of leaving conquered peoples and countries the right of choosing their own constitutions ought to-be 
so far modified that we should exjjressly forbid them to give themselves kings. There must be no mare Ungs in Europe. 
One king would te mffidmt to mcUmger general liberty; and I request that a committee be established for the purpose of 
promoting a general irmtrrectim among allpeiy>le against kings." They thus made a distinction between the monarchs 
and the people, and professed to be the deliverers of the latter. The Eevolution Clabs of England affiliated with them 
in sentiment, and Dr. Priestley and Thomas Paine were elected members of the National Convention. Priestley de- 



76 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Paine in France. 



Execution of Louis XVI, 



Egotism of the French Eevolutionists. 

Success gave the revolu- 
tionists prestige, and, with 
egotism unparalleled, the 
National Convention, by 
acclamation, declared that, 
" in the name of the French 
nation, they would grant 
fraternity and assistance to 
all those peoples who wish- 
ed to procure liberty ;" and 
they charged the executive 
power " to send orders to the 
generals to give assistance 
to such people, and to de- 
fend citizens who had suffer- 
ed, and were then suffering 
in the cause of liberty." 
moment England was alarmed, for she had numerous enemies in her own household, 
and the civilized world looked upon the sanguinary tragedy on the Gallic stage with 
dismay and horror. 

The contagion of that bloody Revolution had so poisoned the circulation of the 
social and political system of the United States, that, strange as it may appear to us, 
when the proclamation of the French Republic, with all its attendant horrors of 
August and September, was made known here, followed speedily by intelligence of 




LOUIS SVI. 



The revolutionists, flush- 
ed with victories, and em- 
boldened by the obedi- 
ence which their reign of 
terror inspired, soon exe- 
cuted a long - cherished 
plan of the Jacobins, and 
murdered their king in the 
presence of his subjects.^ 
They declared war against 
Entrland and Hoi- .„ . , 

» "Feb. 1, 

land,'' and soon af- it93. 
terward against b March 
Spain,*" and with '^■ 
the battle-cry of '■''Liberty 
and Equality" they de- 
fied all Europe. For a 



clined, but Paine accepted, went over to France, and 
took his seat in that blood-tbirsty assembly. This call- 
ed forth squibs and caricatures in abundance. In one 
of the latter, entitled "Fashion for Base; or, a Good 
Constitution sacrificed for a Fantastic Form," Paine is 
represented fitting Britannia with a new pair of stays, in 
allusion to the occupation of his early life. Over a cottage 
door on one side was a sign, "Thomas Paine, Stay-maker, 
from Thetford. Paris Modes by Express." Paine never 
ventured to return to England. His popularity in Prance 
was brief. In the National Convention he offended the 
ferocious Jacobius by advocating leniency toward the 
king. He incurred their hatred, and Robespierre and 
his associates cast him into prison, where he composed 
his " Age of Reason." He was saved from the guillotine 
by accident, escaped to the United States, and spent 
much of his time there, until his death, in coarse abuse 
of meu and measures in that country and England. 

' They went through the farce of a trial. The king 
was accused of treason to the people and the Constitu- 
tion, and was found guilty, of course. Weak in intellect, 
and dissipated in habits as he was, Louis was innocent 
of the crimes alleged against him. He was beheaded by 
the guillotine. When standing before the instrument of death, and looking upon the people with benignity, he said, 
" I forgive my enemies ; may God forgive them, and not lay my innocent blood to the charge of the nation ! God bless 
my people !" He was cut short by an order to beat the drums and sound the trumpets, when the brutal offlcer in 
charge called out to him, " A^o speeches t coine, no speeches .'" 




PAINE FITTING STATS. 




MEMORIAL MEDAL. 



The death of Louis was sincerely mourned. He was weak, but not 
wicked. He was an amiable man, and loved his country. His friends 
dared not make any public demonstrations of grief, or even of attach- 
ment. A small commemorative medal of brass was struck, and secretly 
circulated. These were cherished by the Loyalists for a generation with 
great afl'ectiou. On one side is a head of Louis, with the usual inscrip- 
tion— ldd. XVI. EEx GALL. uEi GEATiA. On the othcr side is a memo- 
rial urn, with "louis xvi." upon it, and a fallen crown and sceptre at 
its base. Beneath is the date of his death, and over it the significant 
words, SOL KEONi ABUT—" The sun of the kingdom has departed." The 
engraving is from a copy in the author's possession.* 



* Louis was born on the 23d of March, 1T54, and in 1770 married Maria 
Antoinette, of Austria. He ascended the throne of Prance, on the death of his grandfather, in 1774. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 77 



Forgetfulness of Holland's Friendship. Arrival of " Citizen Genet." Washington's Wisdom and Prudence. 

the conquest of Austrian Netherlands by a French army, there was an outburst of 
popular feeling in favor of the Gallic cause that seemed to be almost universal. 
They were blind to the total difference between their own Revolution and that in 
France. They were forgetful of the friendship of Holland during that struggle — a 
friendship far more sincere than that of the French ; forgetful also of the spirit of 
true liberty which for centuries: had prevailed in Holland, and made it an asylum for 
the persecuted for conscience' sake in all lands ; and the people in several towns and 
cities celebrated these events with demonstrations of great joy.^ With a similar 
spirit the death of the French king was hailed by the leaders of the Republican party 
in the United States; and the declaration of war against England and Holland by 
France awakened a most remarkable enthusiasm in favor of the old ally of the Amer, 
icans, aroused old hatreds toward England, and called loudly for compliance with the 
letter and spirit of the treaty of 1778.^ 

These demonstrations were soon followed by the arrival of "Citizen Genet," as he, 
was styled,^ as minister of the French Republic to the United States. He came in a 
frigate, and landed at Charleston, South Carolina, early in April. His reception there 
was all that his ambition could have demanded ; and his journey of three or four 
weeks by land from there to Philadelphia, the national capital, was a continued ova- 
tion. He was a man of culture and tact, spoke the English language fluently, and 
was frank, lively, and communicative. He was precisely the man for his peculiar 
mission. He mingled familiarly with the people, proclaimed wild and stirring doc- 
trines, scorned all diplomatic art and reserve, and assured the citizens of the United 
States of the unbounded affection of his countrymen for the Americans. The Repub- 
lican leaders hailed his advent with delight ; and a large portion of the people were 
favorable to immediate and active participation by their government with France in 
its impending struggle against armed Europe. Many, in the wild enthusiasm of the 
moment, would not have hesitated an instant in precipitating their country into a war 
that might have proved its utter ruin. 

It was fortunate for the country that a man like Washington, and his wise coun- 
selors, were at the helm and halliards of the vessel of state at that time, and endowed 
with courage suflScient to meet the dangerous popular gale. When intelligence of 
the declaration of war between France and' other nations reached him, the President 
was at Mount Vernon. He had no confidence in the self-constituted rulers of France 
or their system of government. " They are ready to tear each other in pieces," he 
wrote to Governor Lee, of Virginia, " and will, more than probably, prove the worst 
foes the country has." 

Perceiving the proclivity of the public mind in his own country, the President felt 
great anxiety, and he made immediate preparations to arrest, as far as possible, the 
terrible evils which a free course of the popular sympathy for the French might have. 

1 There was a grand fete held in Boston on the 24th of January, 1793. An ox was roasted whole. It was then deco- 
rated with ribbons, and placed npon a car drawn by sixteen horses. The flags of the United States and France were 
displayed from the horns of the ox. It was paraded through the streets, followed by carts bearing sixteen hundred 
loaves of bread and two hogsheads of punch. These were distributed among the people ; and at the same time a party 
of three hundred, with Samuel Adams, then Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, at their head, assisted by the French 
consul, sat down to a dinner in Faneuil Hall. To the children of all the schools, who were paraded in the streets, cakes 
were presented, stamped with the words "Liberty emd£guaUty." By public subscription, the sums owed by prisoners 
in the jail for debt were paid, and the victims of that barbarous l^w were set free. In Philadelphia the anniversary of 
the French alliance, mentioned in the subjoined note, was commemorated by a public dinner. Governor (late General) 
Mifflin presided. At the head of the table a pike was flxed, bearing upon its point the bonnet rovge, with the French and 
American flags Intertwined In festoons, and the whole surmounted by a dove and qlive branch. 

' A treaty of alliance, friendship, and commerce was entered into by the United States and Fiance on the 6th of Feb- 
ruary, 177S, by which the former was bound to guarantee the French possessions in America ; and by a treaty of com- 
merce executed at the same time, French privateers and prizes were entitled to shelter in the American ports, while 
those of the enemies of France should be excluded.— See Article XVII. of the Treaty. 

3 The French Jacobins affected the simplicity of the republics of Greece and Home. All titles were abolished, and 
the term cUizm was universally applied to men. When the king was spoken of, his family name of Capet was used. 
He was called "Citizen Capet" or " Louis Capet." They affected to regard liberty as a divinity, and a courtesan, in the 
conventional costume of that divinity, was paraded in a car through the streets as the Goddess of Liberty. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



78 ^ 

— ■* TT;^ I n ' Assaults upon it and its Aathor. 

SVaehington's Proclamation of Neutrality. __^ ^ 

.April 12 He sent- a most unwelcome letter to the Secretary of State. "War," he 
™^- ' wrote "having actually commenced between France and Great liritam,it 
behooves the government of this country to use every means in its power to prevent 
the citizens thereof from embroilmg us with either of those powers, by endeavormg 
to maintain a strict neutrality." He required Mr. Jefferson to give the subject his 
careful thought, and lay his views before him on his arrival m Philadelphia. A sun- 
ilar letter was sent to the head of every other department. , , „ 

Washington reached Philadelphia on the I'Zth of April, and on the 19th held a 
Cabinet council. It was agreed that the President should issue a proclamation of 
neutrality, warning citizens of the United States not to take part in the kmdlmg war. 
At the same meeting it was agreed that the minister of the French Republic should 

be received.! -, j. ^ ■■, -, 

The President's proclamation of neutrality was issued on the 22d ot April, and was 
assailed with the greatest vehemence by the "French party," as the Republicans 
were called. Reverence for the President's character and position was forgotten in 
the storm of passion that ensued. The proclamation was styled a " royal edict," a 
" darmg and unwarrantable assumption of executive power," and was pointed at as 
an open manifestation by the President and his political friends of partiality for En- 
gland, a bitter foe, and hostility to France, a warm friend and ancient ally. It is fair 
to infer, from the tone of his private letters at that time, that the Secretary of State 
(who voted very reluctantly in the Cabinet for the proclamation), governed by his 
almost fanatical hatred of Hamilton, and his sympathies with the French regicides, 
secretly promoted a public feeling hostile to the administration.^ 

1 The following is a copy of the President's proclamation : 

" Whereas It appears that a state of war exists between Austria, Prnssia, Sardinia, CSreat Britain, and the IJnited Neth- 
erlands on the one part, and France on the other, and the duty and interests of the United States require that they 
should, with sincerity and good faith, adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers : 

"I have therefore thought fit, by these presents, to declare the disposition of the United States to observe the conduct 
aforesaid toward those powers respectively, and to exhort and to warn the citizens of the United States carefully to 
avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever which may ij any manner tend to contravene such disposition. 

"And I do hereby make known, that whosoever of the citizens of the United States shall render himself liable to pun- 
ishment or forfeiture under the law of nations, by committing, aiding, or abetting hostilities against any of the said 
powers, or by carrying to any of them those articles which are deemed contraband by the modern nsage of nations, will 
not receive the protection of the United States against such punishment or forfeiture ; and farther, that I have given 
instructions to those ofdcers to whom it belongs to cause prosecutions to be instituted against all persons who shall, 
within the cognizance of the courts of -the United States, violate the laws of nations with respect to the powers at war, 
or any one of them. In testimony whereof, etc., etc. Signed, Geobge Wasuingtos." 

2 It is an unpleasant duty to arraign men whom the nation delights to honor as tried patriots, ou a charge of com- 
plicity vrith those who at one time would have wrecked the government upon the rocks of anarchy, not designedly, per- 
haps, but nevertheless effectually. But historic truth sometimes demands it, as in the case before us. Mr. Jefferson 
was openly opposed to the policy of Washington's administration. This was manly. But it was not m*ily to he a 
covert enemy. He always denied any complicity with Freneau, his translating clerk, in his coarse abuse of Washington 
and his political friends, while Jefferson was Secretary of State ; but the very minutes made by Mr. Jefferson himself, 
and printed in his Anas, sufficiently indicate his relative position to Preneau at that time. He says that at a Cabinet 
council Washington spoke harshly of Preneau, who impudently sent him three copies of his paper every day, filled with 
abuse of the administration. "He could see nothing in it," Jefferson recorded, "but an impudent design to insult him: 
he ended in a high tone." Again Jefferson says, " He [the President] adverted to a piece in Preneau'a paper of yester- 
day. He said he despised all their attacks on him personally, but that there had never been an act of the government, 
not meaning in the executive line only, but in any line, which that paper had not abused. ... He was evidently sor* 
and warm, and 1 took his intention to be, that I should interpose in some way with Preneau, perhaps withdraw his ap' 
poiutment of translating clerk in my office. But I will not do it. His paper has saved our Constitution, which was gal 
loping fast into monarchy, and has been checked by no one means so powerfully as by that paper. It is well and uni 
versally known that it has been that paper which has checked the career of the monocrats."— Jfe7»M>ir and Correepond 
ence of Jefferson, London edition, iv., 49T. But the evidence against Mr. Jefferson in this matter is not entirely circum 
stantial. The late Dr. John W. Prancis, of New York, who was Prenean's physician in the latter years of his life 
informed the author that it was one of the most poignant griefs of that journalist that he had seemed to be an enem; 
of Washington. He assured Dr. Prancis that the Natimal GazeUe was entirely under the control of Mr. Jefferson, anc 
that the Secretary dictated or wrote the most vioUnt attacks on Washin^tim a/nd his politimL friem/lB, The only excuse fo: 
the conduct of Mr. Jefferson at that time is political monomania. 



OF THE WAR OP 1812, >J9 

Genet's Beception in South Carolinii. Privateers commiaeioned. Arrival and Eeception of one of them at Philadelphia. 




CHAPTER IV. 

" While France her huge limhs hathes recumbent in blood, 
And society's base threats with wide desolation, 
May Peace, like the dove who returned from the flood, 
Find ah ark of abode in our 'mild Constitution. 
But though peace is onr aim, 
Tet the boon we disclaim 
If bought by our Sovereignty, Justice, or Fame ; 
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves 
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls i^s waves." 

KoBEET Tbeat Paine. 

(iiiE*^*T*" — i^C] HE wisdom and timeliness ofWashington's proclamation of neu- 
I trality was soon made manifest. Genet came with blank com- 

missions for naval and military service, and proceeded to fit out 
two privateers at Charleston. He was also empowered to give 
authority to every French consul in the United States to consti- 
tute himself a court of admiralty, to dispose of prizes captured by 
French cruisers and brought into American ports. In defiance 
of the proclamation, his privateers, manned principally by American citizens, sailed 
from Charleston, with the consent and good wishes of the governor and citizens, to 
depredate on British commerce.' 

One of these privateers was DEmhuacade, the frigate that brought Genet to our 
shores. She went prowling up the coast, seizing several vessels, and at last captured 
a fine British merchantman, named The. Grange., within the Capes of the Delaware, 
when she proceeded to Philadelphia in triumphant attitude.* Her arrival .May 2, 
was greeted by a great assemblage of people on the brink of the river. i™- 
" When the British colors were seen reversed," Jefferson wrote to Madison, " and the 
French flying above them, the people burst into peals of exultation." Upon her head, 
her foremast, and her stem, liberty-caps were conspicuous ; and from her masts float- 
ed white burgees, with words that echoed the egotistic proclamation of the French 
National Convention.^ 

VEmbuscade was the precursor of the French minister, who arrived at Philadel- 
phia- fourteen days later.* According to preconcert, a number of citizens ^^^^^^ 
met him at the Schuylkill and escorted him to the city, in the midst of the 
roar of cannon and the ringing of bells. There he received addresses from societies 
and the citizens at large ; and so anxious were his admirers to pay homage to their 
idol, that he was invited to a public dinner before he presented his credentials to the 
President of the United States ! 

At that presentation, which occurred on the 19th,"= the minister's pride was ^ ^^^ 
touched, and his hopeful ardor was chilled. He found himself ia an atmos- 



1 General William Moultrie, the heroic patriot of the Kevolntion, was then Governor of South Carolina. A vrit of the 

day wrote : x , ^ 

" On that blest day when first we came to land. 
Great Mr. Moultrie took us by the hand ; 
Surveyed the ships, admired the motley crew. 
And o'er the envoy friendship's mantle threw \ 
Received the souns^imliitte with soft embrace, 
And bade him welcome with the kindliest grace." 

2 From her foremast were displayed the words, " Enemies of equality, reform or tremble ;" from her mainmast, 
" Freemen we 'are your friends and brethren ;" from the mizzen-mast, "We are armed for the defense of the rights of 
man " VEttibumaiie saluted the vast crowd with fifteen guns, and was responded to on shore by cheers, and gnn for gun. 



80 PICTOEIAL riELD-BOOK 

Genet in the Presence of Washington. His Eeception by his Political Friends. Democratic Societief 

phere of the most profound dignity in the presence of Washington; and he was mad( 
to realize his own littleness while standing before that nohle representative of the besi 
men and the soundest principles of the American Republic. He withdrew from th« 
audience abashed and subdued. He had heard sentiments of sincere regard for th« 
French nation that touched the sensibilities of his heart, and he had felt, in the genu 
ine courtesy and severe simplicity and frankness of the President's manner, whollj 
free from effervescent enthusiasm, a withering rebuke, not only of the adulators in 
public places, but also of his own pretentious aspirations and ungenerous duplicity.' 

Genet affected to be shocked by the evidences of monarchical sympathies in the 
President's house. ^ He was supremely happy when he was permitted to escape 
from the frigidity of truth, virtue, and dignity into the fervid atmosphere of a ban- 
'Mayn, quet-hall filled with his "friends."* There his ears were greeted with the 

"^^- stirring Marseilles Hymn, an ode in French, composed for the occasion,^ and 
toasts brimful of " Liberty and Equality." There his eyes were delighted with a 
"tree of liberty" upon the table, and the flags of the two nations in fraternal enfold- 
ings. There his heart was made glad by having the red cap of liberty placed upon 
his own head first, and then upon the head of each guest, while the wearer, under the 
inspiration of its symbolism — 

" That sacred Cap, which fools In order sped 
In grand rotation, ronnd from head to head" — 

Uttered some patriotic sentiment. There his hopes of success were made to bud anew 
as he saw the officers and sailors of the privateer receive a "fraternal embrace" from 
each guest, and bear away to the robber the flags of the two nations amid the cheers 
of the convivialists. 

^ Genet's presence intensified the party spirit of the Republicans. "Democratic 
Societies," in imitation of the Jacobin Clubs of France, were formed, secret in their 
proceedings, and disloyal in the extreme in their practice at that time. In servile 
imitation of their prototypes, they adopted the peculiar phrases of the populace of 
Paris;^ and a powerful faction was soon visible, more French than American in their 
labits of thought and political principles. By some strange infatuation, sensible and 
aatriotic men were drawn into the toils of the charmer, and they sanctioned and par- 
iicipated in scenes which composed a most astounding and humiliating farce.^ 

■ Genet's address to Washmgton was full of fl-iendly professions. " It was impossible," Jefferson wrote to Madison 
'for any thing to be more affectionate, more magnanimous than the purport of Genet's mission .He Xs eyew 
hmg, and asks nothmg." And yet, while making these professions, he had secret instructions in LiVpocletTofor^eSt 
bscord be ween the United States and Great Britain, and to set the American government at deCce if necessary 
he execution- of hxs designs. He had already openly insulted that government by his acts at cStoi-rcity X" 
"e Snal government '" °°"' ''"'' '"' "'"" ^■"i"^"'^''" »' «ta.iding alone in the attitude of diX:;^!!; 

' He was " astoniaed and indignant" at seeing a bust of Louis XVI. In the vestibule, and complained of it to his 
friends" as an "msult to France." He was equally "astonished" by discovering In the pLiS«T«rinr ' .!t,ii, 
ledalllons of Capet and his family ," and he was " shocked to learn" that the Marquis LNoSlefrre^^^^ 
.afayette) and other emigrant Frenchmen had lately been admitted to the pSce "f Wash 1^1^ J^^^^^^ 
lost things disagreeable outside of the charmed circle of his "friends" ■ -inaeea ne louna 

nl ^»l'J^' "1,^ 'I" ^^ "f '"'^ Duponceau," of Philadelphia, a worthy French gentleman, who came to America with 
ae Baron De Steuben, and was for many years a distinguished citizen of Pennsylvania. The ode was trkSnft^rt^ n 
"i^!±,t\^l Tv'^- "''"'"n' ^"^ *""^'?«°g «'«* "f the Secretary of State, and then suig again. "'^ '""' 

The title of eUizen," says Griswold, " became as common in Philadelphia as in Paris and in tb» „«™<.„,,„. -^ 

uVfhetrsTveie^rmrbor^arc^^^^^^^^^^ 

rS. rr';5T™""'' "'!.™^ ''y''*"'-' ""^ P™««*^3 '» -"""gl^ ^""i« taiSe tiat 0? thXk e's Sure L°l^rt 
n^Lf„7 fw^r™"""' * oomvmy. One of the Democratic taverns displayed as a^g^ a revoftin^ SXf „f^h» 
intilated and bloody corpse of MaiieAntolnette.'''-/J^«M&o™ Co«r(, p. 350. Strange as It^avs^^^^^^^^ 
ifluencedby his prejudices at that time that he shut his eyes, appa rency, to all passSg"vL7,rd?omfv^Tto Mad" 

.;fcfof^oc^b":s 

lished woman. Her murderers accused and convicted her of crimes of Which they taew she was inno.™f eS""""'' 

ssimfr T^tL^Ls:^..f:xr- cast mto .the Magdaien <^r.^.^-,.k .J ^:::^L^^j:^^^i 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



81 



Enthnsiasm for the F rench Cause. The American and French Revolutions contrasted. Genlet rebaked by Jefferson. 

But the ludicrous picture of Genet's reception in Philadelphia was relieved by a 
dignified act. On the day of his arrival in that city, an address, signed by three 
hundred merchants and other substantial men of that city, in which was expressed 
the soundest loyalty to the letter and spirit of his proclamation of neutrality, was pre- 
sented to President Washington. 

Similar enthusiasm for the French cause was manifested in New York and a few 
other places, but the citizens were never obnoxious to the charge of overt disloyalty 
to the government. Although the Carmagnole^ was sung hourly in the streets, and 
Democratic societies fanned the zeal for the Jacobin system of government into in- 
temperate heat, the citizens, as such, remained loyal to the Constitution and the laws.^ 

The government, unawed by the storm of passion that beat upon it, went steadily 
forward in the path of right and duty. The Grange was restored to its British 
owners, and the privateers were ordered to leave the American waters. Orders were 
sent to the collectors of all the ports of the United States for the seizure of all vessels 
fitted out as privateers, and to prevent the sale of any prizes captured by such ves- 
sels. Americans from one of the privateers fitted out at Charleston were arrested 
and indicted for a violation of law ; and Chief Justice Jay declared it to be the duty 
of grand juries to present all persons guilty of such violation of the laws of nations 
with respect to any of the belligerent powers. 

These measures greatly irritated the French minister and his American partisans. 
He protested ; and the Secretary of State, soon finding him to be a troublesome friend, 
reiterated the opinions of the President, and j^lainly told him that, by commissioning 
jsrivateers, he had violated the sovereignty of the United States, and that it was ex- 
pected that The Genet and L' Emhuscade (the two privateers fitted out at Charleston) 
would leave the American waters forthwith. 

ison, after expressing his opinion that Genet's magnanimous offers would not be received, "It is evident that one or 
two of the Cabinet [meaning H.amilton and Knox], at least, under pretense of avoiding war on the one side, have no 
great antipathy to run foul of it on the other, and to make a part in the confederacy of princes against human liberty." 

1 A dance, with singing, performed in the streets of Paris during the French Eevolution. ^' page 60. 

2 These societies and the newspapers in their interest attempted to deceive the people by comparing the French Rev- 
olution to their own, as equallyjustilled and holy. JIany, totally ignorant of the facts, believed^ but enlightenment and 
better counsels kept their passions in check. The informed and thoughtful saw no just comparison between the two 
Revolutions. 




THE CONTEAST. 

The aspect of dignity, decorum, gravity, order, and religious solemnity so conspicuous in the American Revolution 
was wholly wanting in that of the French. " When I find," Hamilton wrote to Washington, "the doctrines of atheism 
openly advanced in the Convention, and heard with loud applauses ; when I see the sword of fanaticism extended to 
enforce a political creed upon citizens who were invited to submit to the arms of France as the harbingers of liberty ; 
Avhen I behold the hand of rapacity outstretched to prostrate and ravish the monuments of religious worship erected by 
those citizens and their ancestors ; when I perceive passion, tumult, and violence usurping those seats where reason 
and cool deliberation ought to preside— I acknowledge that I am glad to believe there is no real resemblance between 
what was the cause of America and what is the cause of France." The difference between American liberty and French 
libertij was graphically illustrated by a print called TJk Contrast, of which our engraving is a reduced copy. 



82 



PICTORIAL riELD-BOOK 



Persistence of the French Minister. 



His "Filibustering" Schemes. 



His Attempt to create a Eebellion, 



Genet, with offensive pertinacity, de- 
nounced this doctrine as contrary to 
right, justice, and the law of nations, 
and threatened "to appeal from the 
President to the people." The Re- 
publican papers sustained him in his 
course. 1 The Democratic societies be- 
came more bold and active ; and Genet, 
mistaking the popular clamor in his fa- 
vor for the deliberate voice of the na- 
tion, actually undertook to fit out as a 
privateer at Philadelphia, during the 
absence of the President at Mount Ver- 
non, under the very eyes of the national 
government, a British vessel that had 
been captured and brought in there by 
L' Embuscade, and which he named m 
French The Little Democrat. Mifflin, 
the Democratic Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, interfered, and threatened to 
seize the vessel if Genet persisted in 
his course. The minister refused to listen. Jefferson begged him to desist until the 
return of the President. Genet spurned his kind words, and raved like a madman. 
He declared his determination to send The Little Democrat to sea, complained that he 
had been thwarted in all his undertakings by the government, denounced the Presi- 
dent as unfaithful to the wishes of the people, and resolved to press him to call the 
Congress together to act upon the subjects in dispute." 

Genet's official and private conduct became equally offensive ; and when, on Wash- 
ington's return to the seat of government, it "was recited to him, his indignation was 
aroused. " Is the minister of the French Republic to set the acts of the government 
at defiance with ii1ipunity f he asked. His Cabinet answered No. Forbearance to- 
ward the insolent minister was no longer required by the most exacting courtesy, 
and it was agreed in Cabinet council that the French government should be requested 
to recall him because he was offensive to that of the United States. Jefferson had 
become disgusted with him, and the tone of popular sentiment soon became more 
sensible and patriotic. His reiterated threat of aj)pealing from the President to the 
jjcople — in other words, to excite an msurrection for the purpose of overthrowing the 
government — had shocked the national pride ; and many considerate Republicans, 




1 A writer in Freneau's Gazette said, "I hope the minister of France mil act -with firmness and spirit. The^j^^opZe are 
his friends, or the friends of France, and he will have nothing to apprehend; for, as yet, the people are the sovereigns 
of the United States. Too much complacency is an injury done to his cause ; for, as every advantage is already taken 
of France (not hy the people), farther condescension may lead to farther abuse. If one of the leading features of our 
government is pusillanimity when the British lion shows his teeth, let France and her minister act as becomes the dig- 
nity of her cause, and the honor and faith of nations." 

Freneau's paper, at that time, was assisted in its attacks upon the government by the General Advertiser (afterward 
known as the Avrm-a), edited by B. F. Bache, a grandson of Dr. Franklin, who had been educated in France. It was 
even more violent and abusive than its colleague, and even charged Washington with an intention of joining in the 
league of kings and priests against the French Kepublic ! 

2 Genet was intrusted by his government with bolder schemes than the fitting out of privateers. He was to organize 
what are called in our day "filibustering expeditions," on an extensive scale, against the Spanish dominions, the object 
being no less than the seizure of Florida and New Orleans. An expedition against the former was to be organized in 
South Carolina, and against the latter in Kentucky. The one in the Missis-sippi Valley was to be led by General George 
Rogers Clarke, the conqueror of the Northwest, to whom was given the magniloquent title of "Major General in the 
Armies of France, and Commander-in-chief of the French Revolutionary Legions on the Mississippi." Funds for car- 
rying on these expeditions were to be derived from the payment to the minister, by the United States, of a portion of the 
national debt due to France. French emissaries were employed in South Carolina and Kentucky, and in the latter dis- 
trict, the public mind, irritated by the Spanish obstructions to the navigation of the Mississippi, was very favorable to 
the movement. The failure of Genet's mission put an end to these schemes of conquest, not, however, until they had 
produced annoying effects upon the national government. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



83 



A Reaction. 



Genet recalled. 



His Successor. 



Biographical Sketcli of Genet. 



wVio had been zealous 
iu the cause of the 
Revolution in France, 
paused while listening 
to the audacious words 
of a foreigner who pre- 
sumed to dictate the 
course of conduct to 
be pursued by the be- 
loved Wa s h i n g t o n. 
The tide turned. Very 
soon there were dem- 
onstrations through- 
out the Union of agree- 
ment with the procla- 
mation of neutrality, 
which the jiartisans of 
Genet never dreamed 
of, and a strong and 
irresistible reaction in 
favor of the national 
government speedily 
manifested itself on 
every hand. 

Genet' was recalled, 
and M. Fouchet, a man 
equally indiscreet, was 




appointed his success- 
or. At the close of 
the year, Mr. Jeifer- 
son, whose views of 
French affairs had be- 
come much modified 
by the course of events 
at home and abroad, 
left the Cabinet and 
retired to private life, 
much to the regret 
of Washington, who 
found in him an able 
minister of state. Jef- 
ferson was a patriot, 
but, for several years, 
his jealousy and ha- 
tred of Hamilton and 
his friends made him 
a political monoma- 
niac. 

Wliile the govern- 
ment of the United 
States, unswayed by 
the popular sentiment 
in favor of France, 
and national resent- 



ment against Great Britain, had hastened, oi> the breaking out of war between those 
two countries, to adopt a strictly neutral policy, thereby showing great magnanmiity 
and a conciliatory spirit toward the late enemy in the field, that enemy, inmiical still, 
was pursuing a selfish and ungenerous course, which the wisest and best men of En- 
gland deplored. Regardless of the opinions of Europe expressed in the treaty for an 
armed neutrality in 1780,2 she revived the rule of war laid down by herself alone in 

1 Mr. Genet never returned to Prance. At about the time of his recall, a change of faction had taken place in tiis 
country, and he thought it prudent not to return. He remained, married a daughter of George Clmton, Governor ol the 
State of New York, and became an ornament to American society. It is only of his ofBcial conduct, while the mmister 
of the French Jacobin government, that Americans have reason to complain of him. He was a man ol emment aciiii- 
ties At the time of his arrival in the United States, he was a few months more than thu-ty years of age, having oeen 
bom in January, 1TC3. He was a precocious boy, and from childhood was engaged in public employments He was 
attached to the embassies at Berlin, Vienna, Loudon, and St. Petersburg. Because of a spirited letter which he wrote 
to the Emperor of Russia, indignantly protesting against his expulsion from his dominions after the death oi i.ouis 
XVI he became a favorite of the French revolutionists. He was made adjutant general of the armies ol France and 
minister to Holland, and was employed in revolutionizing Geneva and annexing it to France. He was finally sent to 
America as minister and consul general. He was twice married. His second wife was the daughter ot Mr. Osgood, the 
first Postmaster General under the Constitution. He took great interest in agriculture, and his last illness was occa- 
sioned by his attendance at the meeting of an agricultural society of which he was president. He died ^ "s seat on 
Prospect Hill, near Greenbush, opposite Albany, on the Uth of July, 1834," One of his sisters was the celebrated Madame 
Campan, and another was Madame Anguie, mother-in-law of the distinguished Marshal Ney. Mr. Genet often spoke ol 
the vvisdom of Washington and his administration, the folly of his own countrymen at that time and of their admirers 
in America, and rejoiced that the proclamation of neutrality defeated his wild schemes. 

2 During the American Revolut ion the superior maritime power of Great Britain was able to damage the commerce 
* Genet was buried in the grave-yard of the Reformed Dutch Church at Greenbush. Upon a plain marble tablet 

placed over his remains is the following inscription : , , . j. ^ ^ ^ i -.f • *„„ t>i™; 

" Under this humble stone are interred the remains of EnMu™ Chakles Ge^et, late Adjutant General, Minister Pleni- 
potentiary and Consul General from the French Republic to the United States of America. He was born at Versailles, 
parish of St Louis, in France, Januarv 8, 1TC3, and died at Prospect Hill, town of Greenbush, July 14 1834. 

"Driven by the storms of ihe Revolution to the shades of retirement, he devoted his talents to his adopted country, 
where he cherished the love of liberty and virtue. The pursuits of literature and science enlivened his peaceful solitude, 
Tnd he devoted hlB time to usefulness and benevolence. His last moments were like his life, an example of fortitude 
and hue Christian philosophy. His heart was love and friendship's sun, which has set on this transitory world, to rise 
with radiant splendor beyond the grave." 



i PICTOEIAL FIELD-JJOOK 



■itish "Rules" and Orders in Conncil. Their I njustice. Tlie Armed Nentrality. reeling in tlie United Stateg. 

756,' and first by a "provisional order in council," as it was called, issued in June, 
!Tovember 6 1 '^93,^ and then by another order in council, issued in November following,* 
1^93. ' and secretly promulgated, she struck heavy blows at her antagonist, re- 
M-dless of the fact that they fell almost as heavily upon those who favored her by 
3utrality. Citizens of the United States were then carrying on an extensive trade 
ith the French West India Islands, whose ports had been opened to neutrals for the 
me reasons as in 1756, and felt no apprehension of interference frqm any source, 
ut Great Britain had determined to again apply her starvation measures against her 
Ld enemy, and a secret order in council was issued, and silently circulated among the 
ritish cruisers, without the least notice or intimation to the American merchants; 
irecting all vessels engaged in trading with any colony of France to be taken into 
ritish ports for adjudication in the courts of admiralty.^ 

This lawless invasion of neutral rights, conducted secretly and treacherously, pros- 
■ated at one blow a great portion of American commerce. The property of Amer- 
an merchants to the amount of many millions of dollars was swept from the seas 
to British ports and lost. This was regarded as little better than highway robbery, 
idged by the law of nations and common justice. 

When iatelligence of this high-handed measure reached the United States, it pro- 
ciced the hottest indignation throughout the land. Political strife instantly ceased, 
id both parties were equally zealous in denunciations of the treachery and aggres- 
ons of Great Britain, for which she ofiered no other excuse than expediency, grow- 
:g out of her evident determination to maintain her boasted position of" mistress of 
le seas," regardless of the rights of all the rest of the world. Congress was then iii 
ission, and measures were proposed for retaliation, such as reprisals, embargoes, se- 

other European nations immensely. The British government revived the rule of 1T56, below mentioned, and infringed 
rgely upon neutral commerce. To resist these encroachments, and to protect neutral maritime rights, Bussia, Swe- 
n, Denmark, and Holland formed a treaty of alliance, which they denominated The Armed Neutrality, hy which they 
3dged themselves to support, at the hazard of war, if necessary, the following principles : 1. That it should be lawfiil 
r any ships to sail freely from one port to another, or along the coast of the powers at war. 2. That all merchandise 
d effects belonging to the snbjects of the belligerent powers, and shipped in neutral bottoms, should be entirely free ; 
at is, free ships make free goods. 3. That no place should be considered blockaded except the assailing power had 
ken a station so as to expose to imminent danger any ship attempting to sail in or out of snch ports. 4. Thatnoneu- 
il ships should be stopped without material and well-grounded cause ; and, in such cases, justice should be done them 
thout delay." The British navy triumphed over all opposition, the designs of the armed neutrality were defeated, 
d Holland was made a party to the war with the Americans and France. A similar attempt to restrict the maritime 
wer of Great Britain was made in the year ISOO, which resulted iu the destruction of the Danish fleet before Copen- 
gen in April, 1801. Soon after this The Armed Neutrality was dissolved, and the dominion of the seas was accorded 
England. 

1 When the war between Great Britain and France was formally declared in 17B6, the former power announced, as a 
inciple of national law, "that no other trade should be allowed to nentrals with the colonies of a belligerent in time 
war than what is allowed by the parent state in time of peace." This was in direct opposition to the law of nations 
omulgated by Frederick the Great, of Prussia, namely, " the goods of an enemy can not be taken froin on board the 
ips of a friend ;" and also in direct violation of a treaty between England and Holland, in which it was stipulated ex- 
essly that " free ships make free goods" — that the neutral should enter safely and unmol^ted all the 'harbors ofthe 
lligerents, unless they were blockaded or besieged. England not only violated the treaty, but, having the might, ex- 
cised the right of invading the sovereignty of Holland, and capturing its vessels whose cargoes might be useliil for her 
vy. This assumption—this dictation of law to the nations to suit her own selfish purposes— turned against England 
e denunciations ofthe civilized world, and which for more than a century she has never ceased to receive. At that time 
r "law" was aimed directly at France, then much the weaker naval power. Unable to maintain her accnstomed 
ide with her West India Islands, she opened, their ports to neutrals. It was to destroy the trade by neutrals, so lucra- 
'e to them and so beneficial to France, that Great Britain introduced that new principle of national law. 

2 This order, intended as a starvation measure against France, declared that all vessels laden wholly or in part with 
eadstuffs, bound to any port of France, or places occupied by French armies, should be carried into England, and 
eir cargoes either disposed of there, or security given that they should be sold only in ports of a country in friendship 
th Great Britain. This order was issued on the 8th of June, 1793. 

' The following is a copy ofthe order: 

"George B. : Additional instructions to all ships of war, privateers, etc. : 

"That they shall stop and detain all ships laden with goods the produce of any colony belonging to Prance, or con- 
ying provisions or other supplies for the use of such colonies ; and shall bring the same,'with their cargoes, to legal 
judication in our courts of a(^ralty. By his majesty's command. Signed, Dosdas. 

"November 6,1793." 

So secretly was this order issued that the first account of its existence reached the London Exchange with the details 
several captures which it authorized and occasioned. And Mr. Pincbuey, the American minister, was unable to pro- 
re a copy of it until the 25th of December, more than six weeks after it was issued Hnckney'a letter to his government, 

■amber 26, 1793. 



OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 



85 



British Impressment of American Seamen. 



War threatened. 



John Jay a special Minister to England. 



questrations, and even war. The whole country was violently agitated ; and the 
excitement was increased by events on the Indian frontier, already mentioned, show- 
ing the hand of British influence in the bloody battles in the Northwest. 

Another and more serious element of discord between the two nations came up for 
consideration, and which, in after years, was one of the immediate causes of open hos- 
tilities between the two countries. This was the impressment of American seamen 
into the British service. In efibrts to maintam lier position of " mistress of the seas," 
Great Britain found herself under the necessity of announcing another " law of na- 
tions" to suit her particular case. High wages, humane treatment, and security from 
danger, to be found in the American merchant service, had attracted a great many 
British seamen to it. ^heir government, alarmed at the threatened weakening of its 
naval power by this drain, planted itself upon the theory that a subject can not ex- 
patriate himself — once an Englishman, always an Englishman ; proclaimed the doc- 
trine that in time of war the government had a right to the services of every subject ; 
and that, at the command of their sovereign, every natural-born subject was bound to 
return and fight the battles of his country. In accordance with this doctrine a proc- 
lamation was issued, by which authority was given to the commanders of British 
ships of war to make up any deficiency in their crews by pressing into their service 
British-born seamen wherever found, not within the immediate jurisdiction of any 
foreign state. Under this authority many American merchant vessels were crippled, 
while m mid-ocean, by British seamen being taken from them. ISTor were subjects of 
Great Britain alone taken. It was sometimes difficult to discover the nationality of 
English and American seamen ; and as the British commanders were not very nice in 
their scrutiny, native-born Americans were frequently dragged on board British war 
vessels, and kept* in servitude in the royal navy for years. This was a great and irri- 
tating grievance. 

War with Great Britain now seemed in- 
evitable. To avert it was Washington's 
most anxious desire. To do so, and main- 
tain strict neutrality, was a difficult task. 
He resolved to try negotiation. He well 
knew that the temper of his countrymen 
would oppose it. With a moral heroism 
commensurate with the occasion, he nom- 
inated John Jay, the Chief Justice of the 
United States, as envoy extraordinary to 
the Court of Great Britain, to negotiate 
for a settlement of all matters in dispute 
between the two governments. The prop- 
osition was met with a storm of indigna- 
tion. It was scouted as pusillanimous. 
The Democratic societies and Democratic 
newspapers were aroused into uncommon 
activity. The tri-colored cockade was 
seen on every side, and the partisans of 
the French regicides ruled the hour. 
Better counsels prevailed in the Senate, 
and on the 19th of April" that body 
confirmed the nomination by a vote 
of eighteen to eight. On the 12th of May 
following, Mr. Jay sailed from ISTew York for London. 

The French "Eepublic,!' meanwhile, had become offended with the United States 
because of the virtual dismissal of Genet, and demanded the recall of Mr. Morris. 




gg PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

The Fall of the French Jacobms. Minister Monroe in Paris. Jay'. Treaty with Great Britain. 

Washington prudently complied, and appointed James Monroe in his place. T^e 
. . , latter arrived in France at an auspicious moment." Intelligence of the 

i?r^ new American mission to England had aroused the most bitter enmity to- 
ward the United States among the violent leaders of the National Convention. But 
their bloody rule was at an end. Robespierre and his fiendish associates had fallen. 
For some time they had been hated in the Convention. At length Billaud Varennes 
mounted the tribune, and, in a speech full of invective, denounced Robespierre as a 
' Jni 26 tyrant.'' The accused attempted to speak. " Down with the tyrant !" burst 

°w^*- ' from many a lip, and he and his guilty colleagues were dragged to execu- 
tion amid the shouts of the populace, who had huzzaed as loudly when the king was 
murdered. With their fall the dreadful Reign of Terror ende^. The Jacobin society 
was suppressed. Reason and conscience were asserting their sway in the Conven- 
tion. The nation breathed freer, and the curtain fell on one of the bloodiest tragedies 
in the history of the human race. 

Monroe was received with great cordiality. He sent a judicious letter to the Pres- 
ident of the Convention. Its sentiments were consonant with the feelings of the 
liour. When he afterward entered the hall of the Convention the president em- 
braced him affectionately. It was decreed that the flags of the two nations should 
be entwined and hung up there, in token of international union and friendship ; and 
lyLonroe, with reciprocal courtesy, presented the banner of his country to the Conven- 
tion in the name of the American people. The Convention, in turn, resolved to pre- 
sent their national flag to the President of the United States. 

Jay's mission to England was partially successful. He found many obstacles to 
eontend with. He entered upon the business in June, with Lord Grenville, and on the 
19th of November following, the contracting parties signed a treaty of amity, com- 
merce, and navigation. Although Mr. Jay accomplished much less than his instruc- 
tions directed him to ask for, the treaty was a long step in the direction of right, 
justice, and national prosperity, and led to the execution, to a great extent, of the 
Treaty of 1'783. It also laid the solid foundation of the commercial policy of the 
United States. > 

Jay's treaty was doomed to a severe trial, and, with it, the administration, the 
Constitution, and even the republic itself The Democrats had resolved to oppose it, 
whatever might be its provisions, especially if it should remove all pretexts for a war 

I The treaty provided for the establishment of commissions to determine the eastern botmdary of the United States, 
then in dispute ; the amount of losses incurred by British subjects by impediments being thrown in the way of collect- 
ing debts in the United States incurred before the Revolution ; and to ascertain and estimate the losses of the Americans 
by irregular and illegal captures by British cruisers, such losses to be paid by the British government. It was provided 
that the Western military posts should be given up on the Ist of June, 1796, in consideration of the adjustment of 
the ante-Eevolutionary debts. The Indian trade was left open to both nations, the British being allowed to enter 
jU American harbors, with the right to ascend all rivers to the highest port of entry. This was not reciprocated in 
full. Americans were not allowed free navigation of the rivers in the Hudson's Bay Company's possessions, nor those 
of others of the British colonial possessions in America, e:xcept atove the highest porta of entry. The citizens or subjects 
of each government holding lands in the dominions of the other government were to continue to hold them without 
alienage, nor were confiscations of the property of such persona to be allowed. In a word, the existing conditions of 
property should not be disturbed. Such are the substantial provisions in the first ten articles of the treaty, which were 
declared to be perpetual. The remaining eighteen, having apecial reference to commerce and navigation, were limited 
in their operations to two years after the termination of the war in which Great Britain was then engaged. American 
vessels were allowed to enter the British ports in Effrope and the East Indies on eqnal terms with those of British ves- 
sels, while participation in the East India coasting-trade, and trade between European and British East Indian ports, 
was left to the contingency of British permission. The British were permitted to meet the discrimination in the Amer- 
ican tonnage and import duties by countervailing measures. American vessels not exceeding seventy tons were allowed 
to trade to the British West Indies on condition that they should not, during the continuance of the treaty, transport 
from America to Europe any of the principal colonial products. British vessels were to be admitted into American 
ports on terms equal to the most favored nations. There were provisions made favorable to neutral property on the 
high seas, and that a vessel entering a blockaded port should not be liable to -capture unless previously notified of the 
blockade. There were satisfactory arrangements made concerning enlistments ; of courtesy between ships of war and 
privateers of the two countries j to prevent the arming of privateers of any nation at war with the two contracting par- 
ties, and the capture of goods in the bays apd harbors of the parties. In the event of war between the two countries, 
the citizens or subjects of either should not be molested, if peaceable ; and fugitives from justice, charged with high 
crimes, to be mutually given up.* 



* The Treaty in full may be found in the Stateanum'e Manual, iv., 298. 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. SI 



Violent Opposition to the Treaty. Its Friends assailed. Secession proposed by Virginians. 

with Great Britain. It reached the President early in March,* hut the Sen- . March 6, 
ate were not convened to consider it until June.'' Meanwhile an unfaithful "^'>- 
Cabinet minister (Mr. Randolph, of Virginia) revealed enough of its charac- ' """"^ ^' 
ter to warrant attacks upon it. The mad, seditious cry of faction was immediately 
raised in the Democratic societies and spread among the people. > 

The Senate finally voted to ratify the treaty, and it was published to the world. ^ 
Then the opposition opened upon it their heaviest batteries of abuse. The chief tar- 
gets for their shot were its provisions for the payment of honest debts contracted be- 
fore the Revolution, and the omission to provide for the remuneration of slaveholders 
. for their negroes carried away during that war. As the Constitution of the United 
States, and the public sentiment and judicial decisions of Great Britain did not recog- 
nize man as property,^ the claim relating to slaves in the old treaty was passed over. 
The author of the treaty, the approving senators, the administration, and the Presi- 
dent personally, were violently assailed. The treaty was declai-ed to be a token of 
national cowardice ; an insult to the American people ; a covert hlow at Prance, their 
old ally. Bold attempts were made to intimidate the President and prevent his sign- 
ing it. Public meetings were held all over the country, at which the most violent 
language and seditious suggestions and menaces were made. A mob in Philadelphia 
paraded in the streets with effigies of Jay and the ratifying senators.* A meeting in 
Boston denounced the treaty as containing not one article " honorable or beneficial to 
the United States." H^iilton and other speakers in favor of the treaty were stoned 
at a public meeting in New York, not only by a low mob, but by decent people. = 
South Carolinians called Jay a " traitor," longed for a guillotine, trailed the British 
flag in the dust of the streets of Charleston, and burned it at the door of the British 
consul ; while Virginians, ever ready with the grand panacea of disunion for political 
evils, ofiered their prescription in emphatic if not elegant language.^ 

> The following is a specimen of those factions cries : " Americans, awake 1 Remember what you suffered throngh a 
seven years' war with the satellites of George the Third (and I hope the last). Eecollect the services rendered by your 
allies, now contending for liberty. Blush to think that America should degrade herself so much as to enter into any 
Mnd of treatg with a power, now tottering on the brink of ruin, whose principles are directly contrary to the spirit of 
republicanism. The United States are a republic. Is it advantageous to a republic to have a connection with a mon- 
arch 1 Treaties lead to war, and war is the bane of a republican government. . . . France is our natural ally ; she has 
a government congenial with our own. . . . The nation on whom our political exiatenoe iepends we have treated with in- 
difference bordering on contempt. . . . CiMzens, your security depends on France. ... Let us unite with France, and 
stand or fall together." 

2 The Senate, on voting to recommend the ratification of the treaty, removed the seal of secrecy, but forbade the publi- 
cation of the treaty itself, for prudential reasons connected with measures for ascertaining the construction by the English 
of the order of the 8th of June, 1793 (see page 84), which, it was rumored, had Just been renewed. Eegardless alike of 
the rules of the Senate, of official decorum, and of personal honor. Senator Thomson Mason, of Virginia, sent a copy of 
it to the Amrora newspaper, the bitter enemy of the administration, and a full abstract of it was published therein on 
the 2d of July. A poet of the day thus Ironically addressed Mr. Mason : 

" Ah, Thomson Mason ! long thy fame shall rise 
With Democratic incense to the skies I 
Long shall the world admire thy manly soul. 
Which scorned the haughty Senate's base control ; 
Came boldly forward with thy weighty name. 
And gave the treaty up for public game 1" — The Echo, 

3 In 1697 an English court decided that " negroes being usually bought and sold among merchants as merchandise, 
and also being infideli, there might be a property in them sufficient to maintain trover." In 1703 Chief Justice Holt de- 
cided that "so soon as a negro lands in England he is free." To this Oowper alluded when he said, "Slaves can not 
breathe in England." Holt also decided that "there is no such thing as a slave by the law of England." Just before 
the kindling of the Eevolutlon these decisions were reaffirmed by Chief Justice Lord Mansfield in the case of James 
Somerset, a native of Africa, who had been carried to Virginia, sold as a slave, and taken to England by his master, 
where he was induced to assert his freedom. 

» That of Jay bore a pair of scales : one was labeled "Ameriean libertji and incUpendence," and the other, which greatly 
preponderated, "British gold." From the mouth of the figure proceeded the words, " Come up to my price, andlvyOl sell 

you my couvMV" 

5 "These are hard arguments," said Hamilton, who was hit a glancing blow upon the forehead by one of the stones. 
" Edward Livingston," says the late Dr. Francis, in his OM anA Nem York (" afterward so celebrated for his Louisiana 
Code), was, I am Informed, one of the violent young men by whom the stones were thrown." 

« " Notice is hereby given," said a Eichmond paper (July 31, 1795), " that in case the treaty entered into by that damn- 
ed arch-traitor, John Jay, with the British tyrant should be ratified, a petition will be presented to the next General 
Assembly of Virginia at the next session, praying that the said state may recede from the Union, and be under the gov- 
ernment of one hundred thousand free and independent Virginians. 

" P.S. As it is the wish of the people of the said state to enter into a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Washington's Calmness and Faith. The "Whisky Insurrection" quelled. The "Democratic Societies." 

None of these things moved Washington. He signed the treaty, and awaited 
almly to see the storm pass by. It did so, and the foundations of the government 
were found to be stronger than ever. It was, says Lyman, "the first act of the gov- 
rnment that proved the stability of the Federal Constitution. It was a severe trial, 
Qd the steadiness with which the shock was borne may be attributed, in some de- 
ree, to the personal character of the President."^ In after years, when the republic 
■as menaced by internal factions and external foes, the result of the conflict over 
Jay's Treaty" was pointed to as a warrant for faith and hope. 

While these unpleasant relations with Great Britain and France were exciting the 
sople of the United States, the government was sorely perplexed by other events at 
ome and abroad. At home there had been, for a long time, much discontent on ac- 
)unt of excise laws which levied a duty on domestic distilled liquors. These discon- 
ints were fanned into a flame by the Democratic societies, and, in the summer of 
? 94, the inhabitants of some of the western counties of Pennsylvania arrayed them- 
ilves in armed opposition to the authority of the national government. A formidable 
surrection prevailed. Buildings were burned, mails were robbed, and government 
ficers were insulted and abused. At one time there were nearly seven thousand insur- 
mts in arms, many of them being the militia of the country, who hadassembled at the 
,11 of rebel leaders. The insurgent spirit also infected the border counties of Virginia. 
The President perceived with alarm this imitation of the lawlessness of French pol- 
ios, then so assiduously propagated, and took immediate s^s to crush the growing 
August T and moiister. He first issued two warning proclamations." They were un- 
leptember 25. heeded. After exhausting all peaceable means for the restoration of 
der, he sent a large body of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland 
oops, under General Henry Lee (then Governor of Virginia), into the disaffected dis- 
ict. This argument was effectual ; and very soon the outbreak, known in history as 
e "Whisky Insurrection," like that of Shays's in Massachusetts a few years earlier^ 
as subdued and thoroughly allayed. This alarming insurrection was ended without 
e shedding of a drop of blood— a result chiefly due to the prompt energy and pru- 
ince of Washington. The government was amazingly strengthened by the event. 
ierj good citizen expressed his reprobation of violent ' resistance to law, and the 
3mocratic societies, the chief fomenters of the rebellion,^ after that showed symp- 
ms of a desire to become less conspicuous.^ 



' other state or states of the present tTnion who are averse to returning again under the galling yoke of Great Britain 
prmters of the (at present) United States are requested to publish thl above notiflcatioi " orweatiJritam, 

Lyman's Diplomacy of the United States, 1, 208. 

"That the Belf-constituted societies," Washington wrote to John Jay, "which have spread themselves over this 
ntry have been laboring incessantly to sow the seeds of distrust. Jealousy, and of course discoSSebyhonta' 
effect some revolution in the government, is not unknown to you.* That they have been the foSers of the wSt 
disturbances, admits of no doubt in the mind of any one who will examine their conduct " °' '"^ "^^^' 

I consider this insurrection," he wrote to General Henry Lee on the 26th of August, "as the first formidable fruit of 
nZZf^Zf-""' ^'™^ ■ ' '''"™' '™ ^'■''■"'""^'y *"• '^^- o™ "ews! Which may coSute to tte an- 

I have before me the certificate of membership granted to Capt ain (afterward Commodo re) Joshua Barney by the 

^disr^e-th'^nr-'^zr^Ss ^ir^^^^^^^^^^^ 

silent and the goveoors of the thirteen states. Be'sidfs the''sf th^r'e ^sTgi^nV^ouS" XSt^rsTo^^lTe 
nbers. It was a very popular society, and its membership included most of the best men of New To, t Tu 1 , 
«ry on the 12th of May came to be regarded as a holiday^ No party politics werP toW»t,.i V Z \- '^ '"^"'' 
m Washington denounced " self-constit^ted societies'- for reaso3ovena^^^^^^^^ 

ing their society to be included in the just reproof. Mooney and others adhered t^the Zar,i!«Hn ^ ^ *v t 
e It became a political organization, and took part with Jefferson and the Static paruitt »??,,"'' ^""^ *"' 
IS known as a centre of Democratic organization, in the political ..ense of Zt^Ze itshead au« tpr»T t"'"' 
'^^^ I' ;T'"»?-™ 't" ^'"'^" ^'^^ of the City Hall Park, at thejmiction ofNass^u Street and P„rtp„^r" 
' • "it "i *^^'"'?<' ^™S ^°™' ™ the southeast comer of Nassau and Spruce St?Lts In the vp„r 1^1^;,. ^^^ 
uined to build a " wigwam." Tammany Hall was accordingly erected by them The comer ^nZZ , -f ^^ ft 
nty-second anniversary of the society, in May, ISll, and was finished the following year Of the orilfV*'* "V^" 
hirteen appointed at the meeting in 1800 to carry out the design of erecting a bulldinrLw „ ?,°^' committee 

t is the venerable Jacob Barker, of New Orleans. erecang a Dullding, only one now (1867) survives: 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



89 



Difficulty with Algiers. 



British Interference. 



Algerine Corsairs let loose upon American Commerce. 



The new diiBculty abroad was with Algiers, one of the Barbary Powers, on the 
southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The corsairs of those states, and especially 
of Algiers, had long depredated upon commerce in that region, and had grown bold 
by suffered imjjuuity. When, at the close of the Revolution, American vessels began 
to find their way within the Pillars of Hercules, they frequently became the prey of 
these sea-robbers, who appropriated their cargoes and sold their crews into slavery, 
where they were held for ransom-money. President Washington called the attention 
of the national government to these piracies as early as 1790 ; and, in an able rejiort, 
Secretary Jefferson laid before Congress important details touching the position of 
American interests in that part of the globe. Little, however, could be done, as the 
Americans had no navy ; and the commerce of the United States in that quarter was 
for a long time dependent on the Portuguese fleet for protection. 

Portugal was at war with Algiers for several years, and the fleet of the former con- 
fined the cruisers of the latter to the Mediterranean Sea. This barrier was broken in 
1793, by British instrumentality acting secretly, for the avowed purpose of damaging 
France. Portugal was then seriously dependent on Great Britahi, and had asked its 
aid in procuring a peace with Algiers. The British agent at the Court of the Dey 
was instructed to do so, and, without due authority being given him by Portugal to 
act in its behalf, he concluded a truce between the belligerents for one year. In that 
treaty was introduced the extraordinary stipulation that the Portuguese government 
should not afford protection to any nation against Algerine cruisers ! This truce was 
immediate in its operations, and the robbers were released without notice being given 
to other powers. 

The effect of this measure was disastrous to American commerce. Notwithstand- 
ing the British ministry disclaimed any intention to injure the United States, it was 
very evident that it was a j3art of a scheme to cripple the growing commerce of the 
Americans, or at least so to alarm it as to prevent its carrying supplies to France. 
And such was the result. The corsairs spread themselves over the Atlantic near the 
European coasts, and captured a large number of American vessels making their way 
to Portugal and other parts of the Continent, unsuspicious of any danger. The cor- 
sairs of Tunis joined those of Algiers, and thus a powerful fleet of pirate ships was 
formed.' 



Democratic or Kepuhlican Society of B.iltimore, with the seal of the society attached, by the side of which his name is 
written. The following is a copy of the certificate and seal : 
"To all other Societies established on principles of Libeett and Equality, Union, Pateiotio Virtue, and Peese- 

VEEANOE. 

"We, the Members of the Republican Society of Baltimore, certify and declare to all Eepublican or Democratic Soci- 
eties, and to all Eepublicans individually, that Citizen JoanuA Baeney hath been admitted and now is a member of our 
Society, and that, from his kno^vn zeal to promote Republican principles and the rights of humanity, we have granted 
him this our certificate (which he hath signed in the margin), and do recommend him to all Republicans, that they may 
receive him with fraternity, which we offer to all those who may come to us with sim- 
ilar credentials. 
"In testimony whereof, etc. Signed, Alexander 51'Ki.m, President 

"Geoege Seaes, Sccn-faru" 





This certificate is dated the "twelfth day of August, and in the nineteenth year of the independence of the United 
States and the establishment of the American Republic," or 17!)6. 

1 The maritime force of Algiers at that time, according to O'Brien (see American State Pciperx, x., 32.S), consisted of 
four frigates, with an aggregate of 124 guns ; one polacca (a vessel with three short masts, without tops, caps, or cross- 
tree.s to the upper yards), with 18 guns ; one brig of 20 ; four xebecs (a small three-masted vessel used In the Mediter- 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



i Pride and Avarice of the Dey of Algiers. An American Navy recommended. First Steps toward its Creation. 



The Americans felt justly indignant toward Great Britain because of the important 
rt she had played in letting those robbers out of the Mediterranean. But the gov- - 
iment was powerless to act. David Humphreys, who had been appointed commis- 
mer for the United States to negotiate with the Dey of Algiers, had been treated 
Lth contempt by the haughty semi-barbarian, who was as avaricious as he was 
oud. "If I were to make peace with every body," he said, "what should I do 
Lth my corsairs ? "What should I do with my soldiers ? They would take off my 
ad for the want of other prizes, not bemg able to live on their miserable allow- 

ice !" 

Such logic was unanswerable by words, and Humphreys wrote to his government 
the close of 1793, at the suggestion of Captain Richard 0'Brien,> "If we mean to 
ive a commerce, we must have a navy to defend it." With the same recognition 
the necessity for nautical power, Washington, in his message at the opening of Con- 
gress early in December,^ said, when alluding to the war in Europe, and the deli- 
'*'■ cate international questions arising out of the frontier relations of the republic, 
rhere is a rank due to the United States among nations, which will be withheld, if 
)t absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. If we desire to avoid insult, we 
ust be able to repel it ; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful in- 
ruments of our prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for 
ar." 

The President's wise counsels prevailed. In January,* 1794, a commit- 
annary 2. ^^^ ^^^ appointed, with instructions to report the amount of force neces- 
ry to protect American commerce against the Algerine pirates, and the ways and 
eans for its support.^ This measure, and the general subject of British aggressions, 
icited, as we have seen, long and warm debates, and party lines were very distinctly 
larch 26 drawn. The feeling against Great Britain became intense, and in March" 
ifw. ' an embargo for a limited period was laid, chiefly for the purpose of ob- 
ructing the supply of provisions for the British fleet in the West Indies.^ Then 
llowed the appointment of Mr. Jay as minister extraordinary to Great Britain, al- 
ady noticed. 

There was a powerful and determined opposition to the creation of a navy. With 
range ideas of national honor and national independence, some advocated the pur- 
lase of a peace with the Dey of Algiers, and the future security of his forbearance, 
J ransom and tribute money, rather than prepare for, and thus, as they believed, 
revoke a war. And these cowardly counsels had great influence; for when, finally, 
iiarch 11 ^ ^iU 'W^^s passed'' providing for the construction of six frigates, it was en- 
1794. cumbered with a clause commanding a suspension of labor upon them in 
le event of a peace with Algiers being secured. For the purchase of such peace a 
illion of dollars were appropriated. An act was also passed for the fortification of 
le harbors of the republic.'* These were the first steps toward the creation of the 
ivy, army, and fortifications of the United States under the National Constitution. 

Dean), with an aggregate of 168 guns ; a brig on the stoclis of 20 guns ; three galliotas, with 4 gnns each ; and sixty 
ji-hoats. The vessels were all manned at the rate of twelve men for each gun. Ttmis had, at the same time, twenty- 
ree corsairs, mounting from 4 to 24 guns each. 

' Letter of O'Brien to Humphreys, dated "Algiers, November 12, 1793." — See AyneriAom, State Papere^ Boston edition, 
17, X., 319. 

2 This was the first Committee of Ways and Means ever appointed by the Congress, questions of that sort having 
en hitherto referred to the Secretary of the Treasury. It was an opposition measure. 

3 First for thirty days, and afterward for sixty. At the end of that time the embargo expired by limitation, but a 
mporary act authorized the President to renew it at any time before the next session of Congress. 

* The naval bill provided that four of the six frigates should carry 44 guns each, and the other two 30 guns each, 
bout $700,000 were appropriated for the purpose. In the matter of harbor defenses, the President was authorized to 
mmence fortifications at Portland, Portsmouth, Gloucester, Salem, Boston, Newport, New London, New York, Phila- 
ilphia, Baltimore, Annapolis, Alexandria, Norfolk, Ocracoke Inlet, Wilmington, Cape Fear Elver, Georgetown, S. C, 
aarleeton, Savannah, and St. Mary's. But the whole amount of money appropriated for this purpose was the paltry 
im of $136,000. True, this was only for the cammeiicmieTii of the fortifications. The President was authorized to pnr- 
lase two hundred cannon, and artillery munitions for the forts, for which $96,000 were appropriated. For the estab- 
jhment of arsenals and armories $81,000 were appropriated, and $340,000 were provided for the purchase of arms and 



OF THE WAK OF 1812. 



91 



Building of Prigates. Tribute to the Dey of Algiers. Eelease of Captives. The French Directory offended. 

Perceiving an urgent necessity in the aspect of foreign affairs in relation to his own 
governnient, the President resolved to have the six frigates huilt immediately, and 
their keels were soon respectively laid in six different ports. ^ The work was going 
on briskly, when it was suspended, at the close of 1 795, by the conclusion of a treaty 
of peace" with the African robber, which cost the governnient a million . November 28, 
of dollars without ultimate advantage.^ The work on the six frigates "'''• 

was suspended, and the mercantile marine of the United States lost all hope of pro- 
tection in the event of a war with any foreign government. 

At the beginning of 1796 the aspect of the foreign affairs of the republic was peace- 
ful. The Indian war in the West had ceased ; a better understanding with Great 
Britain prevailed than had been known since the close of the Revolution ; and the 
French government, then in the hands of a Directory,^ showed no special symptoms 
of enmity toward that of the United States. But clouds soon began to appear in that 
section of the pcilitical horizon. The ratification of Jay's treaty gave such offense to 
the Directory that they declared* the alliance between France and the t February is. 
United States at an end, and that Adet, the successor of Fouchet, should ^^°*" 

be recalled, to rdake room for a special minister. In July," when intelli- ° J°iy ^• 
gence was received that the Congress of the United States had made an appropriation 
for the due execution of Jay's treaty, the Directory issued a secret order authorizing 
French ships of war to treat neutral vessels in the same manner as they had suffered 
themselves to be treated by the English. Under this authorization, numerous Amer- 
ican ships were seized in the West Indies by French cruisers. This was followed in 



military stores. The importation of arms for two years was to be ft-ee, and no arms were allowed to be exported for a 
year.. . 

1 These were Portsmouth, N. H., Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Norfolk. The President also pro- 
ceeded to appoint the following officers, constructors, and navy agents : 



Captains and Supermtendents. 


Naval Conatructora. 


Navy Amenta. 


For Shipa to be built at 


John Barry. 
Samuel Nicholson. 
Silas Talbot. 
Eichard Dale. 
Thomas Truxtun. 
James Sever. 


Joshua Humphreys. 
George Cleghom. 
Porman Cheesman. 
John Morgan. 
David Stodert. 
James Hackett. 


Isaac Coxe. 
Henry Jackson. 
John Blagge. 
W. Pennock. 
Jeremiah Yillott. 
Jacob Sheaffe. 


Philadelphia. 
Boston. 
New York. 
Norfolk. 
' Baltimore. 
Portsmouth. 



2 The relations of those African sea-robbers to the commerce of the world at that time was a disgrace to the civilized 
nations who suffered themselves to be made tributary to the piratical rulers of the semi-barbarian states on the south- 
em shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The first contact of those powers with the Americans was in 178B, when Algerine corsairs captured two vessels from 
the United States, and consigned their crews, twenty-one in number, to slavery. Measures were immediately taken by 
the diplomatic agents of the United States in Europe for their release. The rapacious Dey believed he had found a new 
mine of wealth, and he asked an enormous price for their ransom. The American government determined not to estab- 
lish a precedent that would be followed by more exorbitant demands. In Prance was a religious order, called Mathu- 
rins, established in ancient times for the purpose of redeeming Christian captives in the hands of the infidels. On the 
solicitation of Mr. Jefferson, then minister of the United States at the French Court, the principal of this order under- 
took to procure a release of the American captives. He was unsuccessful. Others made similar attempts, with like re- 
sults. The Dey refused to lower his demands, believing that the United States would pay any price rather than allow 
Americans to remain in bondage. Finally onr government appropriated $40,000 for their ransom, and first John Paul 
Jones, and then Mr. Barclay, were appointed commissioners to negotiate for their release. Bach died before he reached 
Algiers, and the business was placed in the hands of Colonel David Humphreys, American minister at Lisbon. This 
was at about the time when the truce between Portugal and Algiers, already mentioned, was concluded. The Algerine 
fleet was then upon the Atlantic, and, within a month after the truce was agreed upon, ten American vessels were cap- 
tured by them, and over one hundred American seamen consigned to slavery. Colonel Humphreys asked the Dey for a 
passport to Algiers. The elated raler said that he would not make peace with the Americans on any terms, nor allow 
any American embassador to come to his capital. Humphreys hastened to the United States, when Congress appropri- 
ated about a million of dollars to be applied to the release of the captives. In the spring of 1795 Humphreys sailed for 
Europe, with Mr. Donaldson, consul for Tunis and Tripoli. While the former remained in Prance to obtain the aid of 
that government, Donaldson made a treaty with the Dey. The captives were finally released on the payment of a large 
sum of money, and an agreement on the part of the United States to pay to the Dey of Algiers an annual tribute. The 
amount to be paid down was ,$800,000, and, in addition, the United States agreed to present the Dey with a frigate 
worth one hundred thousand dollars. The amount of annual tribute-money was twenty-five thousand dollars. This 
treaty was humiliating to the United States, but it was in accordance with the usages of European nations, and could 

not then be avoided. ,„ . , ^.,. ,. , ^ xv . » <■ 

' The Directory was installed at the Lnxembourg at Pans, nnder a new constitution of government, on the Ist of 
November 1795 and was appointed to hold executive power for four years. It was composed of five members, and 
rnled in connection with the Chambers, namely, the Council of Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred. 



92 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



American Servility. 



Close of Washington's Administration. 



Attacks on his Character. 




America by Minister Adet's famous " cock- 
ade proclamation," calling upon all French 
residents in the United States, in the name 
of the Directoi-y, to mount on their hats a 
tri-colored cockade. The call was loyally 
responded to, and many American Demo- 
crats, also, were seen with this token of 
their devotion to the French Republic. 

Mr. Monroe, having failed to please either 
the French Directory or his own govern- 
ment, was superseded by Charles Cotes- 
worth Pinckney, of South Carolina. That 
gentleman embarked as minister to France 
in September, bearing with him Monroe's 
letters of recall. 

Washington's second administration was 

now drawing to a close, and he resolved to 

^ retire to private life. In September he is- 

l "f^ Z^'' ^ ^^'^^ ^^"^ admiral^le Farewell Address to his 

1^3 1^ 1:33 :2<2^j,-<>C?^2<^2---'^--^ countrymen — a political legacy of inestima- 

ble value. At the same time the first great 
struggle of the Federal and Democratic parties for power was going on, in the can- 
vass'for Washington's successor. The candidates were Adams and Jefferson ; and 
every appeal which party spirit or party rancor could invent was made to the people 
all over the land. Adet, with unparalleled impudence, issued an inflammatory appeal 
to the peoj^le, containing a summary of alleged violations of friendship to France on 
the part of the United States government. It was chiefly intended to arouse the 
feeliu<Ts of the Americans against Great Britain. Other partisans of Jeflferson, in their 
zeal to injure the Federal party, made outrageous assaults upon Washington's char- 
acter, charging him with using the public money for private use, and of being a trai- 
tor to his country. 1 The notorious Thomas Paine, lately released from a French 
prison, with his moral sensibilities all blunted by habitual dissipation, wrote a scur- 
rilous letter to Washington, from under the roof of Monroe in Paris, in the summer 
of 1796. This was published in the United States for the purpose of promoting Jef- 
ferson's election. But Adams was successful. The attack on Washington strength- 
ened the Federal party, and the last growl of the opposition toward him personally 
was given by a writer in the Ai(,rora on the first President's retirement from oflice 
at the beginning of March, 1797, and on the eve of his departure for Mount Vernon.^ 
When Washington retired from public life the clouds of difiiculty between the 
United States and France Avere thickening. French cruisers were inflicting great 
° February 2T, wrongs ou American commerce, and near the close of the session of the 
Congress of 1796, '97, the Secretary of State laid before that body"' a full 



179T. 



1 " If ever a nation has been debauched by a man," said a writer in the Aurara, " the .American nation has been de- 
bauched by Washington. If ever a nation was deceived by a man, the American nation has been deceived by Washing- 
ton. Let his conduct, then, he an example to future ages. Let it serve to be a w.arning that no man may be an idol. 
Let the history of the Federal government instruct mankind that the mask of patriotism may be worn to conceal the 
foulest designs against the liberties of the people." 

2 " ' Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,' " said this politician. 
" If ever there was a time that would license the reiteratiou of the exclamation of the pious Simeon," he said, "that 
time is now arrived ; for the man who is the source of all the misfortunes of our country is this day reduced to a level 
with his fellow-citizens, and is no longer possessed of power to multiply evils upon the United States. . . . "WTieu a ret- 
rospect is taken ofthe Wasbingtonian administration for eight years, it is a sul).iect of the greatest astonishment that a 
single individual should have cankered the principles of republicanism in an enlightened people .just emerged from the 
gulf of despotism, and should have carried his designs against the public liberty so far as to have put in jeopardy its 
very existence. Such, however, are the facts, and, with them staring us in the face, this day ought to be a jubii pe in the 
United States !" 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



93 



President Adams. 



Aspect of Public Affairs. 



Treatment of an American Minister. 



Tlie French Directory. 



exhibit of them. From that communication it ajjpeared that not only were American 
vessels captured, but their crews were treated with great indignity, and even cruelty. 
Many bitter complaints were made against Commodore Joshua Barney, then in the 
French service, in command of two frigates in the West Indies, who was accused of 
treating his own captive countrymen with indifference and neglect. He was also 
charged with having insulted the American flag by hoisting it union down. And yet, 
when he arrived in Chesapeake Bay to learn and carry away to France the result of 
the Presidential election, though he boasted of having in his pocket the orders of the 
French Directory to capture American vessels, and declared that, if Jefferson were 
not elected, war would be proclaimed by France within three mouths, he Avas not the 
less on that account honored and feasted by infatuated politicians who read the 
Aurora and believed Washington to be a traitor !^ 

Adams^ came into office with a power- 
ful party opposed to him — a party which 
lacked only two votes of giving the elec- 
tion to Mr. Jefferson, his rival, who be- 
came Vice-President. An open rupture 
with France was becoming more and 
more imminent. The accession of Sjjain 
to their alliance, and the victories of 
young ISTapoleon Bonaparte in Italy, gave 
the Directory strength, and their bearing 
toward other governments became more 
and more insolent. Their corsairs were 
depredating uj)on • American commerce, 
and in their pride they declared that, un- 
til the United States had redressed cer- 
tain alleged grievances of which they 
complained, no minister of the republic 
would be received by them. Pinckney, 
who had never been officially received as 
minister, was ordered to leave France. 
He retired to Holland, after sending a nar- 
rative of his bad treatment to his govern- 
ment, and there awaited farther orders. 

The conduct of the French Directory soon wrought a great change in the public 
mind in the United States. Disajipointed by the failure of Jefferson to be elected 
President, the Directory determined to punish the people who dared to thwart their 
plans. They issued a decree" which was almost tantamount to a declaration . jiay lo, 
of war. It not only authorized the capture of American vessels under cer- ^''^■ 
tain conditions, but declared that any American found on boai-d of a hostile ship, 
thouo-h placed there without his consent by impressment, should be hanged as a 
pirate. American seamen, continually liable to impressment by the British, were to 
be subjected to a pirate's fate by the French ! Strange to say, the eminent American, 




^2^?^n4 



1 Hildretli's Histmry of the United States, Second Series, i., 7(1S. 

2 John Adams was born at Qulncy, Massachusetts, October 13, 1735. He was educated at Harvard University, and at 
the age of twenty-two years commenced the practice of the law. He was brought prominently into public life by his 
defense of Captain Preston at Boston, who was engaged in the so-called " massacre," in the spring of 17T0. He became 
a member of the Massachusetts Legislature, and in 1774 was elected to the Continental Congress. He was one of the 
most active men in that body until sent on diplomatic missions to Europe, He was the representative of the new re- 
public abroad for many years, and was one of the negotiators for peace in 1783. In 1789 he was chosen Vice-President 
of the United States, and in 1797 was elevated to the seat of the President, as Washington's successor. He served one 
term and retired to Quincy in 1801. He engaged but little in public life afterward. He and Jefferson died on the same 
day July 4, 1826, just fifty years after they voted for the Declaration of Independence. Mr, Adams was then ninety-one 
years of age. The above portrait was painted by Stuart at about the time Adams was elected President. 



94 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Joel Barlow a French Democrat. 



Madness of Partisans, 



'God Bave the Guillotine.' 



^li^t/i 



Joel Barlow, at that tinie 
a resident in Paris, coolly 
wrote to a friend concern- 
ing this barbarous decree, 
"• The government here is 
determined to fleece you 
to a sufficient degree to 
bring yoii to your feel- 
ing in the only nerve in 
which your sensibility 
lies, which is your pe- 
cuniary interest."' 

President Adams had 
called an extraordinary 
session of Congress at the 
middle of May. The re- 
action every Avhere had 
greatly strengthened the 
dispute between the United States and France; After a session of little more than 
six weeks, during which time provision was made for a small loan for calling out 
eighty thousand militia, and creating a small naval force, and acts against privateer- 
a j,,]^ 1(1 ing were passed, Congress adjourned^ in time to escape the yellow fever that 

1^^^- ravaged Philadeljjhia that season.^ 




administration party, and 
many Republicans talk- 
ed with complacency of a 
war with France. But a 
majority of the Cabinet 
favored farther attempts 
at negotiation. John Mar- 
shall, a Federalist (after- 
ward Chief Justice of the 
United States), and El- 
bridge Gerry, a Dem- 
ocrat ( afterward Vice - 
President), were appoint- 
ed envoys extraordinary 
to proceed to Europe, 
join Mr. Pinckney, and 
attempt to settle by di- 
plomacy all matters in 



1 Letter to his brother-in-law, Abraham Baldwin, of Georgia. Barlow, who went to France with a commnnication to 
the National Convention from a sympathizing society in England, was made a French citizen. By some commercial 
operations he accumulated a large fortune, lived in sumptuous style in Paris, and, being a thorough French Democrat, 
was the bitter enemy of the administrations of Washington and Adams. While at Hamburg, in 179.S, he was invited to 
a Jacobin festival, and he furnished for the occasion a copy of the following song, written by Thelwall, a celebrated En- 
glish Jacobin. It was sung on that occasion, and has been generally considered a composition by Mr. Barlow himself. 
It was entitled God save the Guillotine, and is a parody of the English national song* God save the King: 

" God save the guillotine ! Shall in the basket roll. 

Till England's king and queen Let mercy then control 

Her power shall prove ; The guillotine. 

Till each anointed knob 
Affords a clipping job. 
Let no rude halter rob 

The guillotine. 

" France, let thy trumpet sound — 
Tell all the world around 

How Capet fell ; 
And when great Georoe's poll 

2 At about this time ii letter written by Jefferson to Philip Mazzei, an Italian republican, who had lived near him in 
Virginia for a while, was published in the Federal newspapers, and made a great stir. The letter was written a year 
before, and was translated and published by Mazzei in a Florentine journal. It contained a virtual indorsement of all 
the charges made against Washington and his political friends. Its publication brought to an end the friendship be- 
tween Jefferson and the late President. Jefferson was placed in such an unpleasant dilemma by it that he prudently 
kept silence. It was used with great effect at the time, and was again brought up against him at the Presidential can- 
vass in the year ISOO. It was made the subject of a caricature called Tue Providential Detection. At a place for 



' W^ieu all the sceptred crew 
Have paid their homage due 

The guillotine. 
Let Freedom's flag advance 
Till all the world, like France, 
O'er tyrants' graves shall dance, 

And peace begin." 



* It may not be out of place here to remark that " God save the King," in words and air, did not originate with Han- 
del in the time of George the First, as is generally supposed, but is almost a literal translation of a cantique which was 
always sung by the maidens of St. Cyr when Louis the Fourteenth entered the chapel of that establishment to hear the 
morning prayer. M. De Brinon was the author of the words, and the music was by the eminent LuUi, founder of the 
French opera. The following is a copy of the words : 

" Grand Dieu sauve le Roi ! 
Grand Dieu venge le Koi ! 

Vive le rtoi ! 
Que toujours glorieux, 
Louis victorieux! 
Voye ses ennemi 

Toujours soumis 1 
Grand Dieu sauve le Eoi ! 
Grand Dieu venge le Roi ! 

Vive le Roi !" 
This air is still sung by the vine-dressers in the south of France.— See Memoirs of Madame de Crequp. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 95 



Pride of the French Directory. Attempt to extort Tribate from the Americans. Pinckney's Eeply. A French Decree. 

Darker and darker appeared the storm-clouds of European politics, and the mutter- 
ing of their thunders shook the social fabric in America with some alarm. England, 
for a moment, seemed tottering to its fall. Its financial power was sorely smitten by 
the suspension of specie payments by the Bank of England, and its naval strength 
and supremacy seemed menaced by a great mutiny at the Nore'. Bonaparte was 
making his splendid conquering marches in the direction of the Danube, and the Car- 
pathian Mountains beyond, and Austria had already been compelled to make peace 
with his government. Success waited on French anns and French diplomacy every 
where; and when the three American envoys reached Paris in October," .October 4, 
and asked for an audience with the Directory, they met with a haughty ^''^''■ 
refusal, unless they should first pay into the deficient French treasury a large sum as 
an equivalent for friendship. Overtures for this purpose were made by unofficial 
agents, and the sum demanded was two hundred and forty thousand dollars, besides 
an arrangement for purchasing from the French government a large amount of Dutch 
securities, which had been wrung from the Hollanders as the price of peace. Threats 
were made that, if these conditions were not complied with, l9ie envoys might be or- 
dered to leave France at any time with only twenty-four hours' notice, and that the 
coasts of the United States would be ravaged by French vessels from St. Domingo. 

Delay followed delay. The envoys were firm; and the occasion was given for 
Pinclcney to utter the noble sentiment, " Millions for defense, but not one cent for 
tribute !" At length the envoys, having presented a list of grievances of which their 
government complained, asked for their passports if they could, not be recognized as 
ministers. These -yvere finally granted" to the Federal envoys, but under cir- b March, 
cumstances of insult and indignity which amounted to virtual expulsion from i^'^- 
the country. Gerry, the Democrat, who had held interviews with Talleyrand, the 
French premier, without the knowledge of his colleagues, and who doubtless encour- 
aged him to believe that the " French party" in America were sufficiently numerous 
to avert a war with France, and insure a partial if not full compliance with her de- 
mands, was directed to remain in the character of an accepted minister.' He did so,- 
and received the severest censures from his indignant countrymen. After being 
treated with mingled insolence and contempt by Talleyrand, and his asso- = juiy, 1798. 
ciates, Gerry also embarked for the United States." ^ January is 

Meanwhile the French Directory had issued a decree* concerning neu- i^- 

trals on the ocean, more outrageous than any yet put forth, and calculated to efiect- 
ually destroy American commerce in European waters.^ This action, the indecent 
treatment of the envoys, and the continued depredations of the French cruisers, 
aroused a violent war spirit in the United States. It had been manifested, in a de- 
gree, at the opening of the Fifth Congress, and it increased with every fresh item of 
intelligence from France. 

The President, in his first annual message," had recommended prepara- « November 23, 
tions for war ; and in Congress the administration grew stronger every i^^'^- 

hour. At length, at the middle of March, dispatches came from the envoys giving a 
history of the infamous proceedings of the French Directory.^ A general outburst 

bnmt sacrifice called the "Altar of French Despotism," before which Jefferson is kneeling, a flame is seen, fed by pa- 
pers marked Age ofSeaaan, Godwin, Aurora, Chronicle, J. J. Rousseau, Voltaire, Ruins of Volney, Belvetius, etc. Aronnd 
the altar lie sacks for consumption, marked Amjcbioas Spoliations, Dutch Restitution, Sardinia, Flanders, Venice, Spain, 
Plunder, etc. 

1 Gerry was much petted while in France, while his colleagues were neglected. At a ball given by Talleyrand as 
early as January, 1798, at which General and Madame Bonaparte were present, Mr. Gerry appeared. His brother envoys 
not having been invited, he at first refused, but finally attended, he s(iid, in compliance with the dictates of policy. 

" It proclaimed that all vessels having merchandise on board, the production of England or her colonies, whoever the 
owner of the merchandise might be, were liable to seizure as good prizes ; and any vessel which at any previous part of her 
voyage had touched at any English port or possession was forbidden to enter any French port. Just before the issuing 
of this decree an American at Nantes wrote to his friends at home that no less than sixty privateers were fitting out in 
that port alone to prey upon American commerce. 

' The Directory at that time were Barras, Moulius, Si^yes, Gohier, and Eoger Dncos. All but Barras were soon after- 



)6 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Indignation of the Americans. Preparations for War with France. Proceedings in New York City. 

)f indignation followed. The people of the United States, as a nation, felt deeply in- 
iulted, and Pinckney's patriotic sentiment was repeated in every part of the republic. 
^d yet there were those slavish enough to justify France and crimiaate their own 
government. In this cowardly course the Aurora took the lead. By some disloyal 
land it was placed in possession of Talleyrand's rejoinder to the complaints of the 
invoys, and published it before it reached the government of the United States, for 
vhom alone it was intended. It was argued that it would be better to comply with 
he demands of the Directory for money than to incur the risk of a war — better to 
)urchase peace by humbly paying tribute, than to vindicate the claims of the nation 
■0 independence by asserting and maintaining its rights at all hazards ! 

Such logic did not suit the character nor temper of the American people at that 
ime. The rampant war spirit, fed on every hand by fresh aggressions and patriotic 
March 19, appeals, was not to be, appeased. The President issued a special message," 

"'^- calling upon Congress to make provisions for hostilities. His appeal was 
esponded to with alacrity. Means for administering chastisements for injuries re- 
leived, and for repellii% those which were threatened, were provided without hesita- 
ion. Provision was made for the organization of a regular provisional army, in mag- 
litude sufficient for the exigencies of the case, and the employment of a volunteer 
orce. Measures were also taken, on the recommendation of the Secretary of War, 
ar strengthening the navy, and making it a power to be respected on the high seas.' 

To a great extent party spirit disappeared in the National Legislature. Their pro- 
eedings were approved by the great majority of the people, and the President re- 
eived addresses from all parts of the Union, warmly commending his course, and 
verflowing with the most fervid patriotism.^ The young Federalists, with a spirit 
f defiant response to the Democrats, who still wore the badge of devotion to French 
olitics ordered by Adet, mounted a black cockade, such as was worn by officers m 
he Revolution ;3 and between the wearers of these opposing decorations there was 

ard driven from office ; and when, in the antumn of 1T99, Bonaparte nsarped the government, he expelled from Prance 
le first two above named as utterly corrupt. 

' After much manoeuvring on the part of the opposition to prevent the adoption of these measures to meet any hostilities 
1 the part of Prance, the men who m 1794-only four years hefore-were eager for war with England, and voted for prep- 
iT^llZ ^ !" n f ■ r^ "^^^^ ""T,"' ™''^'"«°t fo"^ peace-an inconsistency which many of their partisans throughout 
L the SSn't »*ntr > ''.""• ^-Tr' ^'''^r^^ ^ regularprovisional army of about twenty thousand men, and 
ive the President author y to appoint officers for it ; also to receive and organize volunteer corps, who should be ex- 
apted from ordinary militia duty. The sum of $800,000 was appropriated for the purchase of cannon arms, and mUitary 
ores. Provision was made for fortifying the harbors of the United States-a labor already commencedland, for the 
rther security of ports the purchase and equipment often galleys. The President was also authorized to cause twelve 
Xp of not Z, ^° on ^™' "'°^' M ^ Department, the duties of which the 

reive ofnot loss than 20 nor exceed- ^ /> Secretary of War had hitherto per- 

f?8SZ"'t'^^"^"1,'""''^; /yjy. .^^ryio / formed, was created, and on the loth 

venjrtf ;f' ^''■,f"7lx'""^ tV^^ ^C^^-cQt^ of April, 1T98, Benjamin Stoddert, of 
venue cutters to be built. A Navy Georgetown, in the District of Colnm- 

a, was appointed the first Secretary of the Navy, and took his seat in the Cabinet. 

, ti^!i ''^'y °f !^''«' York was greatly excited by the prospect of a war with Prance. Its commerce had suffered much 
r„r ^T^j V ?-^ * cruisers, and the mercantile classes were greatly exasperated. The Hepnblicans or Dem- 

nll t 1 o-ilf f'^»?'="*<'°. ^^°^ meetings were public, called " The Society of Free Debate." A meeting was 
ilea lor the 2ith of April, 1T98, to discuss the question, "Would it be better policy, under existing circumstances, to 
Lf." "^v.^'T ? ^?!'°^ proposed by some as a less dangerous measure], than to arm in defense of our carrying- 
„7™. -^ I^f aeralists went to the meeting in great numbers, and, by an overwhelming vote, elected Jacob Morton 
vp,!^^„'.t ^f ?,, ° °'^^}^^^. ™*.«3 f™ »™™g- They expressed by resolutions fall approbation of the conduct of the 
ZTww «f " determination to support it. They appointed a committee, consisting of Colonel Jacob Morton, 
ent «1,f P™!f '■ Nicholae Bvartson, John Cozine, and Josiah Ogden Hoffman, to draft an address to thePresl 

'iTaddresTed thrrSL '''""'°"™ """ '^' ^""^ """""' *°™"' ^''°<'^- ^"«'' ^^^ ««°«™°t » 

°n° ores™^ ^S/t^*"^^ "^f l" "•' ""^ ''ddressed by the late Chief Justice Samuel Jones. Nine hundred young 
■atost the French *''™'^'™= '" ^^ '" readiness, at a moment's warning, to offer their sei-vices to their country 

^I^fi"!!,?' '^ °'"^™.! ""^ N«w"^o* Chamber of Commerce took action concerning the defenses of New York Thev 
ntheT<LTnTSeeVoTsf"^'V'^"""r-^^ A conference wrhliate neS 

" tasuLa™<^S>trv"!nd1r" H»? " r' '"'^T" '" ■="" " P"""" ""'"■'S^ "f <='*"«"« ^h" ■night "e ready to defend 
rnTi Srr^l^ ^ .^„ defenseless port." The call was made, and an invitation was given for such citizens to 

e RefobZi If '^"'"H"''.'^, •^"P^' '* """S ^««° ascertained that Colonel Stevens, an elper°euLd arSS rf 
e Revolution was wilhng to take the direction of them and to give them insti-nctions. P^^ucea artillerist of 

ar of ill As ' °'"' "' "Black-cockade Federalists," which was a term of reproach until ten years after the 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 97 

Patriotic SongB. History of Bail, Columbia 1 and Adaim amd Liberty. 

intense hatred, which sometimes led to personal collisions. In the sti-eets of cities 
opposing processions were seen; and all over the land the new songs oiSail, Colum- 
bia I and Adams and lAherty, were sung with unbounded applause.' The excitement 
against some of the opposition leaders in Congress soon hecame mtense, and the most 
obnoxious of them, from Virginia, sought personal safety in flight, under the pretense 
of attention to their private affau-s at home. 

' The history of the origin and fate of these two songs is curious. The former, almost totally destitute of poetic 
merit, is still sung, and is regarded as a national song ; the latter, ftiH of genuine poetry, has been forgotten. Hail, 
Columbia ! was written in the spring of 1798, when the war spirit of the nation was aroused by the irritating news from 
France. Mr. Fox, a young singer and actor in the Philadelphia Theatre, was to have a benefit. There was so little 
novelty at the play-house that he anticipated a failure. On the morning previous, he called upon Joseph Hopkinson, 
and said, "Not a single box has been taken, and 1 fear there will be a thin house. If yon will write me some patriotic 
verses to the tune of the ' President's March,' I feel sure of a full house. Several people about the theatre have attempt- 
ed it, but they have come to the conclusion that it can not be done. Yet I think you may succeed." Hopkinson retired 
to his study, wrote the first verse and chorus, and submitted them to Mrs. Hopkinson, who sang them with a harpsichord 
accompaniment. The time and words harmonized. The song was soon finished, and the young actor received it the 
same evening. The theatre placards the next morning announced that Mr. Fox would sing a new patriotic song. The 
house was crowded— the song was sung— the audience were wild with delight ; for it t(^ched the public heart with elec- 
trical effect at that moment, and eight timesthe singer was called out to repeat the song. When it was sung the ninth 
time the whole audience arose and Joined in the chorus. On the following night (April 30, 1798) the President and his 
wife and some of the heads of departments were present, and the singer was called out time after time. It was repeat- 
ed night after night in the.theatres of Philadelphia and other places, and it became the universal song of the boys in the 
streets. On one occasion a crowd thronged the street in fl:onf of the author's residence, and suddenly " Hail, Colum- 
bia !" from five hundred voices broke the stillness' of the midnight air. 

In June following Robert Treat Paine was requested to write a song, to be eung at the anniversary of the "Massa- 
chusetts Charitable Fire Society." He wrote a political song adapted to the temper of the times, and called it ' ' Adams 
and Liberty." At the house of Major Russell, editor of the Boston Centinel, the author showed it to that gentleman." " It 
is imperfect," said Euasell, "without the name of Washington, in it." Mr. Paine was about to take some wine, when 
Russell politely and good-naturedly interfered, saying, "Tou can have none of my wine, Mr. Paine, until you have 
written another stanza, with Washington's name in it." Paine walked back and forth a few moments, called for a pen, 
and wrote the finest verse in the whole poem — a verse which forms the epigraph of the chapter on the next page. This 
song, in nine stanzas, became immensely popular. It was sung all over the country, in theatres and public places, in 
workshops and drawing-rooms, and by the boys in the streets. The sale of it on "broadsides" yielded the airthor a 
profit of $750. The temper of the large majority of the American people at that time is expressed in the following 
verses of the ode : 

" While Fi'ance her huge limbs bathes recumbent in blood. 
And Society's base threats with wide dissolution ; 
May Peace, like the dove, who returned from the flood, 
I^d an ark of abode in our mild Constitution. 
But though Peace is our aim. 
Yet the boon we disclaim. 
If bought by our Sov'reignty, Justice, or Fame. 

" 'Tis the fire of the flint, each American warms ; 
Let Rome's haughty victors beware of collision. 
Let them bring all the vassals of Europe in anns- 
We're a' world by ourselves, and disclaim a division. 
While with patriot pride 
To our laws we're allied. 
No foe can subdue us, no faction divide. 

" Our mountains are crowned with imperial oak. 

Whose roots, like our liberties, ages have nourished ; 
But long ere our nation submits to the yoke. 
Not a tree shall be left on the field where it flourished. 
Should invasion impend. 
Every grove would descend 
From the hill-tops they shaded, our shores to defend. 

" let our patriots destroy Anarch's pestilent worm. 

Lest our Liberty's growth should be checked by corrosion ; 
Then let clouds thicken round us, we heed not the storm, 
.Our realm fears no shock but the earth's own explosion. 
Foes assail us in vain, 
Though their fleets bridge the main. 
For our altars and laws with our lives we'll maintain. 
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves 
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves." 

G 



)8 PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 

'reparations for War. Washington invited to command the Army. He accepts. Hamilton acting General-in-chief. 




CHAPTER V. 

" Should the tempest of war overshadow onr land, 

Its bolts could ne'er rend Freedom's temple asunder ; 
For, unmoved, at its portal, woald Washington stand, 
And repulse with his breijist the assaults of the thunder ! 
His sword from the sleep 
Of its scabbard would leap. 
And conduct with its point ev'ry flash to the deep I 
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves 
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves." 

EoBEET Tbeat Paine. 

AVING resolved on war, if necessary, for the dignity of the 
nation, the question arose spontaneously in the hearts of the 
American people. Who shall command our armies at this im- 
portant crisis ? All minds instinctively turned toward Wash- 
ington as the only man who could command the respect of the 
, whole nation and keep a dangerous faction in cheek.^ "In 
such a state of public affairs," Hamilton wrote, " it is impossi- 
ble not to look up to you. . . . In the event of an open rupture 
with France, the public voice will again call you to command 
le armies of your country. ... All your past labor may demand, to give it efficacy, 
lis farther, this great sacrifice. "2 " We must have your name, if you will in any 
ise permit us to use it," President Adams wrote to him on the 22d of June. " There 
ill be more efficiency m it than in many an army." And four days later, James 
['Henry, the Secretary of War, wrote to him, "You see how the storm thickens, and 
lat our vessel may soon require its ancient pilot. Will you— may we flatter our- 
ilves that, in a crisis so awful and important, you will accept the command of all 
ir armies? I hope you will, because you alone can unite aU hearts and all hands, 
it is possible that they can be united." 

These intimations were followed by corresponding action. On the 7th of July 
resident Adams, with the consent of the Senate, appointed Washington Lieutenant- 
sneral and commander-in-chief of all the armies raised and to be raised for the 
rvice of the United States. The venerated patriot, then sixty-five years of ao'e in- 
antly obeyed the call of his country. "You may command me without reserve" 
i said to President Adams, qualifying the remark only by the expressed desire that 
i should not be called mto active sei-vice until the public need should demand it 
IS fnend Mr. IJamilton, then forty-one years of age, was appointed first major gen- 
al and placed m adtive supreme command; and in November, Washington held a 
>nferenoe at Philadelphia with all the general officers, when arrangements were 
ad^ tor the complete organization of a provisional army on a war footing 
Washmgton all this while had looked upon the gathering tempest with perfect 
nhdence that the clouds would pass by, and leave h is country unscathed by the 

}^^rZ, *h! n^'"tv conviction of many of the wisest men of that day that the leaders of the onnosition wished to 

srSti^i^rr-r^f^rc^^oS^^^^^^^ 

Ht^CTo%SKyT?r ^ '^''■"' '-^ ^™^"- ""''^ P™^-^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



The Pride of the Directory humbled. A Minister Plenipotentiary to France appointed. 

lightning and the hail. Events soon justified his faith. The pride of the haughty 
Directory was speedily humbled, and the fears of England, toward whom many 
thoughtful men in America had looked as a possible friend and aid in the event of a 
war with France, were allayed. The victorious Bonaparte, who had threatened Great 
Britain with invasion, had gone off to Egypt on a romantic expedition, his avowed 
object being to march into Palestine, take possession of Jerusalem, rebuild the Tem- 
ple, and ^.-estore the Jews to their beloved city and land. This he unsuccessfully at- 
tempted after the battle of the Nile, in which the proud Toulon fleet had been van- 
quished by Nelson." A few weeW later Sir John Borlase Warren had 'Xngasn, 
scattered a French fleet" that hovered on the coast of Ireland to aid in- ™^' 
surgents there ; and many minor victories were accorded to English ' October a. 
prowess.^ 

These successes of the English, intelligence of the war feeling in America, and the 
appointment of Washington as commander-in-chief of the armies of the United 
States, made the intoxicated Directory pause in their mad career. The wily Talley- 
rand besran to think of conciliation. In letters to Pinchon," French sec- . ^ „„ , 

^ . ITT i"- T1 T t> ' August 28 and 

retary of legation at the Hague, he intimated that any advances tor ne- September 28, 
gotiation that the government of the United States might make would 
be received by the Directory in a friendly spirit. These intimations, as intended, 
were communicated to William Vans Murray, the United States miaister at the 
Hague, who transmitted them to his government. 

Without consulting his Cabinet, or taking counsel of national dignity. President 
Adams nominated Mr. Murray minister plenipotentiary to France. The country was 
astounded. It came upon the Cabinet, the Congress, and the people without premo- 
nition. The Cabinet opposed it, and the Senate resolved not to confirm it. No direct 
overtures had been made by the French government ; and some of Mr. Adams's best 
friends, who regarded war as preferable to dishonor, deprecated a cowardly cringing 
to a half-relenting tyrant, and warmly remonstrated with him. He persisted, and 
they were estranged. He finally so far yielded to public opinion as to nominate 
three envoys extraordinary, Mr. Murray being one, to negotiate a settlement of all 
matters in dispute between the United States and France. These were confirmed by 
the Senate at near the close of the session, in February, 1799, not willingly, but from 
a conviction that a refusal to do so might endanger the existence of the Federal party, 
for Mr. Adams had many and powerful supporters. It was stipulated, however, that 
the two envoys yet at home (Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth and Patrick Henry 2) should 

1 England had for some time trembled violently before the won- 
derful operations of Bonaparte on the Continent. For a while in- 
fasion of the island seemed imminent. But when the cloud disap- 
peared in the autumn of 1798, and scarcely a day passed without 
bringing intelligence of some new success of the British navy, the 
feeling of exultation was intense. The pencil of Gilhray, the great 
caricaturist, was exceedingly active, and in quick succession he 
brought out several prints illustrating John Bull as being surfeited 
with his immense captures. In one of these, entitled "John Bull 
taking a Luncheon ; or, British Cooks cramming Old Grumble-giz- 
zard with Bonne Chire," the representative of English nationality, a 
burly old fellow is seen sitting in a chair at a well-fttmished table, 
while the naval cooks are zealous in their attentions. The hero of 
the Nil6 offers him a "fricassee i la Nelson," consisting of a large 
dish of battered French ships of the line. Another admiral offers 
him a " fricando i la Howe," " dessert 4 la Warren," " Dutch cheese 
a la Duncan," et csetera. John Bull is deliberately snapping up a 
frigate at a mouthful, and is evidently fattening on his diet. 
"What!" he exclaims, "more fricassees? Where do you think I 
JOHN ntHL TAEiKQ A LusoH. Shall find room to stow all you bring in f" By his side is an im- 

mense jug of brown stout to wash them down. Behind him is a 
-t)icture of "Bonaparte in Egypt" suspended against the wall, nearly concealed by Nelson's hat, which is hung over it.* 

= Mr. Henry declined the nomination because of his advanced age and mcreasing mflrmities. Governor William B . 

• The portion of this celebrated caricature here given, with the description, is copied fi-om Wright's England »™Jer the 
nmuip. DfHanmer, 11., 298. 




100 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Three Envoys sent to France. Bonaparte First Consul. Naval Warfare between the Americans and the French. 

not embark for Europe until authentic and satisfactory assurances should be given as 
to their reception. Such assurances were received by the government in October fol- 
lowing, and in November Ellsworth and W. R. Davie (the latter having taken Mr. 
Henry's place) sailed for Europe. Fortunately for all parties, when the envoys 
reached France a change had taken place in the government of that country. The 
Directory was no more. Bonaparte had suddenly returned from the East, after 
great and brilliant movements with various results, and was hailed as tlje good 
genius of the Republic. He found, as he expected, his country rent by political dis- 
sensions, and the Directory in disrepute among the most powerful classes. "With the 
issistance of a strong party, supported by bayonets, he dissolved the Assembly of 
'Novembers, Representatives and took the government into his own hands,* with the 
""'• title of First Consul, which was at first conferred upon him for ten years, 
md afterward for life. 

The audacity and energy of Bonaparte saved France from anarchy and ruin. To 
jlease the people he proclaimed a pacific policy, and opened correspondence with the 
March 2, powers then at war with the Republic with professions of peaceful desires. 

1800. It ^yas at this auspicious moment that the American envoys arrived" at 
Paris. 

While these political movements were in progress, and preparations were making 
n the United States for a French invasion, war between the two nations actually 
sommenced on the ocean, although hostilities had not been proclaimed by either. On 
he Vth of July, 1798, Congress declared the old treaties with France at an end, and 
wo days afterward passed a law authorizing American vessels of war to capture 
f'rench cruisers wherever they might be found. On the llth, a new marine corps of 
learly nine hundred men, rank and file, commanded by a major, was established by 
aw, and a total of thirty active cruisers was provided for. 

We have observed that some movements for strengthening the navy were begun 
larly in 1797. The frigates United States, 44, Constitution, 44, and Constellation, 38,' 
v^ere launched, and ordered to be put in commission that year. The Un ited States first 
cached the water, and was the beginning of the American navy created after the adop- 
lon of the National Constitution. She was launched at Philadelphia on the 10th of 

1797. ''^'^^y'" ^""^ "^^^ followed in September by the Constellation and Constitution. 
The former was set afloat on the 7th of that month, at Baltimore, and the lat- 
er on the 20th, at Boston j^ yet none of these were ready for sea when, in the spring 
if 1798, war with France seemed inevitable. 

An Indiaman, called the Ganges, was armed and equii:)ped at Philadelphia as a 
4-pounder, and placed in the command of Captain Richard Dale. She sailed on the 
2d of May, to cruise along the coast from the east end of Long Island to the Capes of 
/irgmia, to watch the approach of an enemy to the ports of New York, Philadelphia 
ndBaltimore. On the 12th of June Captain Dale received instructions off the Capes 
f Delaware to seize French cruisers and capture any of their prizes that might fall 
a his way. ° 

The Constellation, 38, first went down the Patapsco on the morning of the 9th of 

1798. j^Pi'il." and early in June went to sea under the command of Captain Thomas 
Iruxtun, in company with the Belmare, 20, Captain Decatur,^ each havmg 



'avie, of North Carolina, was appointed in Henry's place. The commission then stood : Murrav of Marvland • WIr 

tnTofie rpptireLt''''' """^''^ °' ^'""' "*™""''- *• ^""«^" »"" »' '""^ =»s-- ^^ '-tSdKorTan";: 

' The Constellation was constructed by David Stodert. 

3 Stephen Decatur was born at Newport, Khode Island, in 1761. He commanded several privateers during the T?pvo 
ition and captured several English ships. He received a commission as captain in the UnLd States uavv!nl7-)f and 
irved with distinction during the hostilities with the French cruisers. In 1800 he commanded a sanadrin „r ti!,M«^ 
,.1 on the Guadaloupe station, his flag-sMp being the Philadelpkia, 38. He left the s™ in iso" and % W^'^" 



OF THE WAll OF 18 12. 



101 



Capture of Le Croijable. 



The llnit-ed States and the Constitution. 



Life aucl Services of Commodore Barry. 



Q_;/^^^^^^C^ oB^^^^^^-^^^^ 



orders similar to 
Dale's. When only 
a few days out, De- 
catur fell in with the French corsair Le GroyaUe, 14, captured her, and sent her to 
Philadelphia as a prize. She was condemned by the prize court, added to the United 
States navy with the name oi Betaliation', snA. placed under the command of Lieuten- 
ant William Bainbridge. She was the first vessel captured during the " French War 
of '98," so called, and was the first vessel taken by the present navy of the United 
States. 

Early in July the United States, 44, Cap- 
tain John Barry,^ went to sea, and cruised 
eastward. She carried among her officers 
several young men who afterward became 
distinguished in the annals of naval war- 
fare.- The government soon afterward de- 
termined to send a force to the West Indies, 
where American commerce was most ex- 
posed, and Cajjtam Barry was ordered there 
with a small squadron, consisting of the 
United States, 44, Delaware, 20, and 'Her- 
ald, \9. 

The Constitution (yet in the service) went 
to sea in July, in command of Captain Sam- 
xiel Nicholson, and, in comjiany with four 
revenue vessels, sailed in August to cruise 
off the coast southward of the Virginia 
Capes. One of tlies^e vessels was in com- 
mand of Lieutenant (afterward Commodore) 
Preble. 
In August the Constitution, Q3.])tA\xiTv\xx.- 




ty^T^^^-y-t- Ay/pc^>*^ — ^^^ 



commercial pnrsaits in Philadelphia, where he died in L90S. A plain slab, near the noble granite monument erected to 
the memory of his distingnished son in St. Peter's (Episcopal) Church burying-grouud, marks the grave of the gallant 
captain and his wife, who died iulS12. 

I John Barry was born in Ireland, County of Wexford, 
in 1745. He came to America in his youth, as a seaman. 
In 1775 he entered the naval service of Congress, and it 
is a disputed point whether he was the first of the com- 
manders who got to sea at that period. He was in ac- 
tive service during the whole war. In the establishment 
of the new navy in 1794 he was named the senior officer, 
in which station, in command of the United States, he died 
on the ISth of September, 1S03, in the city of Philadelphia. 
He died childless, at the age of flfty-eight years. 

Commodore Barry's tomb is near the entrance to the 
cemetery of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, on Fourth 
Street, Philadelphia. The following is a copy of the in- 
scription : 

"Let the patriot, the soldier, and the Christian who visit 
these mansions of the dead, view this monument with re- 
spect. Beneath are deposited the remains of Jon?( Baeey. 
He was born in the County of Wexford, in Ireland, but 
America was the object of his patriotism, and the theatre of 
his usefulness aud honor. In theEevolutionary War, which 
established the independence of the United States, he bore 
the commission of a captain in their infant navy, and aft- 
erward became commander-in-chief. He fought often and 
(mce bled in the cause of freedom. But his habits of war 
did not lessen in time the peaceful virtues which adorn private life. He was gentle, kind, just, and charitable ; and not 
less beloved by family and friends than by his grateful country. In a full belief in the doctrines of the Gospel, he calmly 
resigned his soul into the arms of his Redeemer on the 1.3th of September, 1803, in the fifty-ninth year of liis age. His 
affectionate widow hath caused this marble to be erected, to perpetuate his name after the hearts of his fellow-citizens 
have ceased to be the living record of his public and private virtues." 
2 Her first lieutenant was David Ross, who was last seen on the SOth of November, 1799 ; John MuUowny, who died in 




0O.y.M0I)OEE BAEEY S .^lOND.MENT. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



02 

ritish outrage.. The Obseqnionsne.s of the American Government. Instruction, of the Secretary of thli;;;^ 

.n, and the BaltimoreM Captain Phillips, performed signal service by safely con- 
oying sixty American merchant vessels from Havana to the United fet^es, in the 
ice of several French cruisers lying in that port. Both the British and French au- 
borities in the West Indies were surprised at the appearance of so many Amencan 
raisers in that region. At the close of the year 1798 the American navy consisted 
f twenty-three vessels, with an aggregate armament of four hundred and forty-six 

uns. , 

It was at this time that the first of the series of most flagrant outrages upon the 
Lmerican flag, which flnally aroused the people of the United States to vindicate 
heir honor and independence by an appeal to arms, was committed by a British 
ommander. The American ship Baltimore, Captain Phillips, sailed out of Havana 
n the morning of thel6th of ]Srovember,1798, in charge of a convoy bound to Charles- 
on. South Carolina, and in sight of Moro Castle met a British squadron. At that time 
he governments of the United States and Great Britain were on friendly terms, and 
'hillips bore up to the Carnatick, the flag-ship of his majesty's squadron, to speak to 
he commander. To his surprise, three of the convoy were cut off from the rest and 
aptured by the British vessels. By invitation Phillips went on board the CarnaticTc, 
rhen he was informed that every man on board the Baltimore who had not a regular 
American protection should be transferred to the British flag-ship. Captain Phillips 
protested against the outrage, and declared that he would formally sun-ender his 
hip, and refer the matter to his government. His protest was of no avail. On re- 
urning to the Baltimore, he found a British oflScer mustering his men. He imme- 
liately ordered that gentleman and those who accompanied him to walk to the lee- 
vard, and then sent his men to their quarters. After consultation with a legal gen- 
leman on board his ship, he determined to formally surrender her if his men were 
,aken from him. Fifty-five of them were transferred to the Carnatick, and the colors 
)f the Baltimore were lowered. Only five of her crew were retained by the British 
saptain. These were pressed into the service of the king. The remainder were sent 
)ack, and the Baltimore was released. The British squadron then sailed away with 
ihe five captive seamen, and the three merchant vessels as prizes. 

The Baltimore hastened to Philadelphia, and her case was laid before the govera- 
nent. At that time the trade between the United States and Great Britain was ex- 
.remely profitable to American merchants ; and the mercantile interest was such a 
jower in the state that almost any indignity from the " mistress of the seas" would 
lave been submitted to rather than provoke hostilities with that government. ^ The 
^bnerican Cabinet, in its obsequious deference to the British, had actually instructed 
ihe commanders of American cruisers on no account — not even to save a vessel of 
iheir own nation — to molest those of other nations, France excepted.^ The govem- 
nent dismissed Captain Phillips from the navy without trial because he surrendered 
(v'ithout a show of resistance ; but the outrage of the British commander was passed 
by unnoticed! 

At about the time of this occurrence near Havana, a small American squadron was 

L801, was her second lieutenant ; her third was James Barron, afterward commodore ; and her fourth was Charles Stew- 
irt, the Tenerable commodore, yet (1862) living. Among the midshipmen were Decatur, Somers, and Caldwell, who 
iistinguished themselves at Tripoli. Jacob Jones and William M. Crane joined her soon afterward, both of whom be- 
came commodores. 

1 The country had just entered upon a career of great commercial prosperity, notwithstanding many perils and hin- 
ierances beset that branch of national industry. American tunnage had doubled in ten years. American agricultural 
products found a ready market. The exports had increased from nineteen millions to almost ninety millions, and the 
Imports in about the same proportion ; and the amount of revenue from imports greatly exceeded the most sanguine 
anticipations. 

2 "The vessels of every other nation (Prance excepted"), ran the instructions of the Secretary of the Navy, "are on no 
%ecount to he molested ; and I wish particularly to impress on your mind that, should you ever see an American vessel 
captured by the armed ship of any nation at war with whom we are at peace, you can not lawfully interfere to prevent 
the capture, for it is to be taken for granted that such nation will compensate for such capture if It shall prove to have 
been illegally made." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 103 



Naval Engagements. Increase of the Navy. Victory of the ConatenaMm over the ImwrgmU. 

cruising off Guadaloupe. One of the vessels was the captured Le Croyable, now the 
Retaliation, commanded by Lieutenant Bainbridge. They discovered some French 
cruisers, and mistook them for English vessels. The Retaliation reconnoLtered them, 
and perceived her mistake too late to avoid trouble. She was attacked by two 
French frigates (the Yolontaire and Insurgente), and was compelled to surrender. 
The Insurgente, to whom the Retaliation was a prize, was one of the swiftest vessels 
on the ocean. She immediately made chase after two of the American ships, who 
were pressing all sail in flight. Bainbridge was a prisoner on the Volontaire, and, 
with the officers of that vessel, witnessed the chase with great interest from the fore- 
castle. The Insurgente continually gained upon the fugitives. " What are their 
armaments ?" the commander of the Volontaire asked Bainbridge. " Twepty-eight 
twelves and twenty nines," he quickly responded. This false statement doubled their 
forces, and startled the commander. He was the senior of the captain of the Insur- 
gente, and immediately signaled him to give up the chase. The order was reluctantly 
obeyed. The American vessels escaped, and Bainbridge's deceptive reply cost him 
only a few curses. In this affair the Retaliation gained the distinction of being the 
first cruiser taken by both parties during the war. 

The strength of the navy was considerably increased during the year 1799. Many 
vessels were launched, and most of them were commissioned before the close of au- 
tumn. At the beginning of the year the active force in the West Indies was distrib- 
uted into four squadrons. Commodore Barry, the senior officer in the service, was 
in command of ten vessels, with an aggregate of two hundred and thirty-two guns, 
whose general rendezvous was St. Rupert's Bay. Another squadron of five ves- 
sels. Tinder Commodore Truxtun, in the Constellation, rendezvoused at St. Kitt's, 
and cruised to leeward as far as Porto Rico. Captain Tingey, with a smaller force, 
cruised between Cuba and St. Domingo ; and Captain Deafctur, with some revenue 
vessels, watched the interests of American commerce off Havana. These squadrons 
captured many French vessels during the year. 

At meridian on the 9th of February,^ while the Constellation was cruising 
off Nevis, a large vessel was discovered at the southward. Truxtun gave 
chase, and brought on an engagement at little past three in the afternoon. It lasted 
an hour and a quarter, when the antagonist of the Constellation struck her colors 
and surrendered. She was the famous French frigate Insurgente, Captaiu Barreault, 
just mentioned as the captor of the Retaliation a few weeks earlier. The gallant 
Frenchman did not yield until his fine ship was dreadfully shattered, and he Jiad lost 
seventy men, killed and wounded. The Constellation had lost only three mei^ found- 
ed. The prize was put in charge of Lieutenant (afterward Commodore) Rodg'ers, 
and at the end *of three days of tempest, danger, and suffering, she was taken iato St. 
Kitt's' (St. Christopher), and received a salute from the fort. 

This victory produced great exultation in the United States, and the navy was de- 
clared to be equal to any in the world. The Insurgente carried 40 guns and 409 
men; the Constellation only 32 guns and 309 men. The battle was fought with 
•great skill and bravery on both sides. The press was filled with eulogiums of Trux- 
tun. He received congratulatory addresses from all quarters, and the merchants of 
Lloyd's Coffee-house, London, sent him a service of plate worth over three thousand 
dollars, on which a representation of the action was elegantly engraved.^ The cap- 
tives were loud in praises of Tijnxtun's courtesy and kindness ;^ and for a long time a 

» 

I Cooper's Naval History of the United States, i., 297 ; Tmxtnn's dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy. 

" Wyatt's Generals and Commodores 0/ the American Army andyavy, p. 19T. 

3 " I am sorry," Captain Barreault wrote to Trnxtnn, " that onr two natlpns are at war ; but since I nnfortnnately have 
been vanquished, I felicitate myself and crew upon being prisoners to you. You hjlVB flulted all the qualities which 
characterize a man of honor, cotfrage, and humanity. Receive from me the most B)»?sre thanks, and be assured I 
shall make It a duty to publish to all my fellow-countrymen the generous condnct Which you have observed to- 
ward us." 



104 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

American Craisers in the West Indies. Copteat between the Constellation and La Ve^ffeancc. 

song, called'" Truxtuu's Victory," was sung every where, in private and at public 
gatherings.^ 

Durin<^ the remainder of the year nothing of importance was performed by or be- 
■ Noremberl! fell our cruisers. In November Commodore Barry sailed from Newport" ^ 
1799. ' ^-^j. Fi-ance in the United States, having Messrs. Wolcott and Davie, the 
two envoys, on board. He met with no adventures, and performed his errand with 
satisfaction.' Meanwhile our cruisers were busy in the West Indies, watching the 
interests of American commerce there, and making the French corsairs exceedingly 
cautious and circumspect. At length another victory gave lustre to the American 
navy, rendering it verj popular, aud causing many leading families of the country to 
place their sons in the service.^ 

Tlie victory was again by Truxtun, in the Constellation. Early on the morning 
of the 1st of Fcbruary^lSOO, while ofFGuadaloupe seeking for the large French frigate 
La Vengeance, said to be in those waters, he discovered a sail to the south which he 
took to be an English merchantman. He ran up English colors, but receiving no re- 
sponse, he gave chase. The stranger pressed sail, and it w^as almost fifteen hours 
before the Constellation came within hailing distance of her. It was then discovered 
that she was a large French frigate. Truxtun, unabashed, prepared for action. It 
was opened by the Frenchman, at eight o'clock in the evening, by shots from the 
stern and quarter guns. A desperate engagement at pistol-shot distance ensued. It 
lasted until one in the morning, the combatants all the while running free, side by 
side, and pouring in broadsides. The French frigate suddenly ceased firing, and dis- 
appeared so completely in the gloom that Truxtun believed she had gone to the bot- 
tom of the sea. At that moment it was discovered that the Constellation'' s shrouds 
had been nearly all cut away, and that the mainmast was ready to fall. A heavy 
squall came on, and the Jliast went by the board, carrying with it a midshijjman and 
several topmen who were aloft. The stranger, dreadfully crippled, made her way to 
» February Curagao, where she arri-^-ed on the 6th.'' She was the sought-for frigate 
isoti- Jja Vengeance, carrying 54 guns and 400 men, including passengers. Cap- 
tain Pitot, her commander, acknowledged that ho had twice struck his flag during 
the engagement. She would have been a rich prize for the Constellation. It was 
lost only by the utterly helpless condition of that vessel's mainmast. Truxtun bore 
away for Jamaica, and it Avas some time before he knew the name and character of 
liis antagonist, and the prize he had lost.^ 

1 The song was not poetry, but touched a chord of popular sentiment which responded with great animation. The 
following is a single verse of the song, which contains eight ; 

" On board the Conatallation from Baltimore we came ; . 

We had a bold commander, and Truxtun was his name : 
Our ship she mounted forty guns, 
And on the main so swiftly runs. 
To prove to France Columbia's sons 
Are brave Yankee boys." 
^ "The Navy" became a favorite toast at public meetings, and pictures of na- 
val battles and doggerel verses called "naval songs" were sold in the shops and 
streets. An enterprising crockery merchant had some pitchers of diiferent 
sizes made in Liverpool, comraemorative of the navy. One of them, before me, 
that belonged to the late W. .J, Davis, Esq., of New York, is a white pitcher, 
about a foot in height. Under the spout, in a wreath, arc the words, "Sfocess 
TO THE Infant Navy," and below this the American eagle, in form like that on 
the great seal of the United States. On one side is a picture of a full-rigged vessel 
of war, and some naval emblems in the foreground. On the other side is a map 
of the United States, having on one side Washington and Liberty, in full-length 
figures. Fame, with trumpet and wreath, above it ; and on the other side Frank- 
lin sitting making a record, and a helmeted female, representing America, near 
which stands Justice. This device was upon pitchers made at about the time of 
Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. 

3 ha Ventjmn^e had on board the Governor of Guadaloupe and his family, and 
two general officers, returning to France. She had also a fnll cargo of sugar and 
coffee, and a very large amoimt of specie. She lost, in killed and wounded, one 
hundred and sixty-two. The Constellation lost fourteen men killed and twenty- uaval riTOUEE. 




OF THE WAR OF 18 12. 



105 



Truxtun'B Victory welcomed. 



He is honored by Congress. 



His public Services. 



This second victory over a superior foe gave Truxtim great renown at home and 
abroad, and the Congress of the United States, by action approved on tlie 29th of 
March, 1800, authorized the President to present him a gold medal " emblematical of 
the late action," with the thanks of the nation.' 




!UE7)AL rKy.BEKTET) TO COMMODOEE TEUXTHN. 



Ave wounded. Eleven of the latter died of their wounds. Among the lost wa,s Midshipman Jarvis, of Xew York, who 
commanded the men in the top. He was warned by an old seaman that the mast would soon fall. He gallantly said, 
" Then we must go with it." They did so, and only one man was saved. Congress, by vote, recognized the bravery of 
voun" Jarvis, "who gloriously preferred certain death to an abandonment of his post." 

I This medal is represented in the engravini, the exact size of the original. On one side is a profile bust of Truxlun 
in relief with the legend, "Patei.e f.wres filio mgno Tiiom.vs TEnxxrra." On the reverse are seen two ships of war 
(the Fre'nch a two-decker), both shattered, and the rigging of both much cut np. Legend: "Tue United Statks 

FeIOATK Co>-STEU,ATI0N, of TniETY-EIGIIT OmiS, rUIlBUES, ATTACKS, AND VANQUlSnES THE FeENOU SuiP LaAeNUEANOE, (iK 
FlFTY-FOrR GFNS, IST OF FEBEr.VEV, ISOO," 

Thomas Truxtun was born at Jamaica, Long ^ 

Island, on the ITth of February, 1T5S. He w-ent 
to sea at the age of twelve years. During his 
apprenticeship he was impressed into the Brit- 
ish service, but was soon released. He com- 
manded a vessel in 1TT5, and brought consid- 
erable powder to the colonies at that time. 
He was engaged in privateering from Phila- 
delphia during the whole war. WTiile carrying Mr. 
Barclay, consul general of the United States, to 
France, he had a successful engagement with a 
British man-of-war. In 1704 he was appointed by 
Washington one of the six naval commanders, and 
the OmsteUattan was built under his superintend- 
ence at Baltimore. His exploits in her are related 
in the text. The cruise which resulted in the de- 
feat of ia Vengeance was his last. In 1802 he was 
ordered to the command of a sqiiadron destined 
for the Mediterranean. Being denied a captain to 
command his flag-ship, he declined the service. 
His letter to this eifectwas construed by President 
Jelferson as a resignation, which was accepted, 
and the American navy was deprived of one of its 
brightest ornaments. He retired to a farm not far 
from Philadelphia, where he remained in quiet un- 
til 1816, when the citizens of Philadelphia elect- 
ed him high sherifl". He held that oiBce three 
years, and died on the 5th of May, 1S22, in the six- 
ty-seventh year of his age. He was buried in Christ 
Church-yard, Fifth Street, Philadelphia, where a 
plain upright slab of white marble marks his grave, 
on which is the following inscription : "Sacred to 
the memory of Commodore Thomas Truxtun, for- 
merly of the United States Navy, who died May 
5th, 1822, aged sixty-seven years." In considering 
the little sketch ofTruxtun's grave, the spectator 
is supposed to be standing with his back to Fifth 
Street looking east. 




TEUXTFN B GRAVE. 



06 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

eace. Troubles among the Federalists. Character of President Adams. Opposition to Adams in his own Party. 

Other victories of less magnitude were won by the American cruisers during the 
Eirlier months of the year 1800, and contributed to make the little navy of the United 
tates a subject for praise and wonder in Europe. But its services were now less 
eeded, and efforts to increase the navy were sensibly relaxed during the summer of 
lat year. Active negotiations for peace and amity were in progress between the 
f^nited States and the First Consul of France, which led to a settlement of difficulties, 
he American envoys were cordially received, and three plenipotentiaries, with Joseph 
onaparte at their head, were appointed to treat with them. Many difficulties arose, 
id sometimes an utter failure of the effort seemed inevitable. Finally a convention 
as concluded,' peace was established, the envoys returned home, and the provisional 
•my of the United States was disbanded. 

Allusion has been made to the divisions in the Federal party on account of Presi- 
3nt Adams's course in the appointment of diplomatic agents for negotiations with 
le French government before that government had officially signified its willingness 
I receive them. The instant dissatisfaction caused by that act only gave intensity 
I feelings already existing. Mr. Adams was an honest patriot, of much ability, but 
'tally unfitted by temperament and disposition for the leadership of a great politi- 
il party. He was excessively vain, and correspondingly sensitive and jealous. His 
vid and sometimes eccentric imagination seldom yielded obedience to judgment. 
is prejudices were violent and inexorable, and his frankness made him indiscreet in 
s expressions of opinion concerning men and measures. He held resentment 
;ainst Hamilton as relentless as did Jefferson, and he openly accused him of British 
•oclivities, and hostility to the National Constitution. Because Wolcott, and Pick- 
ing, and Ames, and M'Henry, and other leading Federalists could not agree with 
m concerning public policy, the President regarded them as personal enemies, actu- 
ed by selfish objects, and desirous of defeating his most earnest wishes, namely, a 
-election to the seat he then occupied. Cunning Democrats fanned the flame of 
scord ; and they strengthened Adams's political aspirations by assuring him that he 
ight unite the moderate and virtuous men of both parties, and thus crush the oli- 
,rchy of radical Federalists, to whom all national troubles should be attributed.^ 
It was not long before confidence among the members of the Federal party was al- 
)st destroyed. Such were their divisions in the House of Representatives that, not- 
thstanding they had a decided majority there, they were not able, as Jefferson ex- 
ingly wrote, to carry a single measure during the session of 1799-1800. The sim- 
j truth appears to be that Adams would not be controlled by the leaders who 
limed to have elevated him and his party to power. He exercised his own judg- 
mt as President without regard to party. His most ardent political partisans, 
w become his opponents, reciprocated his own suspicions, and believed that his 
iduct was prompted by jealousy of Hamilton, and a disposition to secure his own Ta- 
ction at whatever sacrifice of principle, or at whatever risk to the Federal party^^ 
These suspicions created zealous action. The most influential Federal leaders, two 
whom (Timothy Pickei-ing and James M'Henry) were in Adams's Cabinet, adopted 
cheme foi* quietly preventing his re-election to the Presidency, which he ardently 
sired. The method of choosing the President and Vice-President, at that time, was 



Phis convention was signed at Paris on the 30th of September, ISOO, by Oliver Ellsworth, William E. Davie, and Wil- 
1 Vans Mnrray, on the part of the United States, and Joseph Bonaparte, Charles P. E. Flearieu, and Pierre L. E<E- 
T, in behalf of France. It provided that the old treaties shonld remain inoperative until a new negotiation should 
de concerning them as well as indemnities mutually claimed. It provided for the mutual restoration of captured 
lie ships and property not already condemned; for the mutual payment of all debts due by the respective govem- 
its and individuals thereof; for reciprocal commercial relations to be equal to those of the most favored nations, and 
iecarity of American commerce against the vexatious pretensions of French cruisers. The convention also declared 
frm ships shmM-mahe free goods, thus affirming the doctrine of Frederick the Great fifty years earlier, and denying 
of England in her famous rule of 1756, revived in 1T93.— See the convention in full in the State»man'i> Manual, iv., 

, = Oliver Wolcott to Fisher Ames, Dec 20,1799. 

Jildreth's History 0/ the United States, Second Series, ii., 355. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 107 



Plans of Federalists for defeating Adams. Tactics of the Democrats. The .Mien and Sedition Laws. 

for two persons to be voted for without distinction as to the office for which they 
were respectively intended ; and the one receiving the highest number of votes was 
declared President, and the other Vice-President. ' This plan gave facility to the 
scheme of Mr. Adams's opponents. A caucus of the Federal members of Congress 
resolved to place Mr. Adams and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, on 
the same ticket, with the tmderstanduig that both should receive the same number 
of votes, and thus cause the election to be carried to the House of Representatives, 
where Mr. Pinckney would have a considerable majority. Caution was necessary, 
for the foe was vigilant, and ever ready to take advantage of the weakness which dis- 
sensions would create in the Federal camp. Open opposition to Adams, whose high 
personal character was appreciated every where, and especially in N"ew England, 
might have imperiled the success of the party. Mr. Adams, on the other hand, was 
aware of the intrigues against him, and that members of his Cabinet were leaders in 
the scheme ; yet for once he was discreet enough not to denounce them openly, nor 
dismiss them from his council, for he was doubtful of his own strength in the power- 
ful Middle States where they were popular, and where the Alien and Sedition Laws, 
which brought such odium upon his administration, were heartily detested. A Dem- 
ocratic caucus pursued a similar course, and selected Thomas Jeiferson and Aaron 
Burr, but with the understanding that the former was the choice of the party for 
President. 

The Alien and Sedition Laws just alluded to were used adroitly by the Democrats 
to excite the people against Adams's administration and the Federal party, and that 
use was made powerful in securing the election of Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency in 
the year 1800.2 



1 For the yonng reader, or a foreigner to whom the working of our political system in detail may not be familiar, an 
explanation here may be usefnl. The President of the United States is not voted for directly by the people. Persons 
in each state, in nnmber equal to the respective senators and representatives- in Congress, are elected by the people, 
and delegated with full powers to choose a President and Vice-President. These meet at a specified time, and form 
what is termed the Electoral College. Although the electors may vote for whom they please, the candidates named by 
the people are always voted for in the college, so that practically the people do vote directly for President and Vice- 
President. In the event of an equal number of votes being cast in the college for both candidates, the election is car- 
ried to the House of Eepresentatives, in accordance with the provisions of the National Constitution, Article ii., sec- 

a The action of Virginia and Kentucky politicians in the matter were so powerful at the time, and remote, even to onr 
day, in their influence upon public opinion in a portion of the republic concerning the theory of our government, as to 
warrant the introduction here of the following brief history of the affair ; . , iv 

In the year 1798, when war with France seemed to be unavoidable. Congress passed acts for the security of the gov- 
ernment against internal foes. By the first act alien enemies could not become citizens at all. By the second, which 
was limited to two years, the President was authorized to order out of the country all aliens whom he might Judge to be 
dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States. Byathird act, in case ofwar declared against the United States, 
or an actual invasion, all resident aliens, natives or citizens of the hostile nation, might, upon a proclamation of the Pres- 
ident issued according to his discretion, be apprehended, and secured or removed. These were known as Alien Laws. 
The President never had occasion to employ them, but several prominent Frenchmen, who felt that the laws were aimed 
at them, speedily left the country. Among them was the celebrated French writer, M. Volney, who, in the preface to his 
View of the Soil and ClimaU of the United States of America, complained bitterly of the " violent and public attacks made 
upon his character, with the connivance or instigation of a certain eminent personage," meaning President Adams. 

In July, 1798, an act was passed for the punishment of sedition. It made it a high misdemeanor, punishable by a fine 
not to exceed $5000, imprisonment from six months to five years, and binding to good behavior at the discretion of the 
court, for any persons unlawfully to combine in opposing measures of the government properly directed by authority, 
or attempting to prevent government officers executing their trusts, or inciting to riot or insurrection. It also pro- 
vided for the fining or imprisoning any person guilty of printing or publishing " any false, scandalous, and malicious 
vnitings against the government of the United States, or either House of Congress, or the President, with intent to de- 
fame them, or to bring them into contempt or disrepute." This was called the Sedition Law. 

The laws brought out the heaviest batteries of denunciation from the opposition, and were deplored by many of the 
Federalists The wise Hamilton perceived the dangers that might arise from the enactment of the Sedition Law, and 
immediately wrote a hurried note of warning to Wolcott on the 29th of June, saying, " Let its sot establish a tyean- 
NT Energy is a very different thing from violence. If we take no false step, we shall be essentially united ; but if we 
push things to the extreme, we shall then give to faction body and solidity." The fears of Hamilton were realized. 
Nothing contributed more powerfully to the speedy downfall of the Federal party than these extreme measures. 

The Alien and Sedition Laws aroused individual resentments, and led to the public avowal of the doctrine of inde- 
pendent and supreme state sovereignty in its most dangerous form. The right of "nullification" was as distmctly pro- 
claimed by Jefferson and others as it ever was by Calhoun or Hayne. In a series of resolutions drawn up under the 
seal of secrecy as to their authorship, Mr. Jefferson declared the National Constitution to be a mere compact made by 
sovereign states <m slates, each having the sole right of interpreting for itself the "compact," and bound by no interpre- 
tation but its own • that the general government has no final right, in any of its branches, to interpret the extent of its 
own powers and that all its acts not considered constitutional by a state may be properly nullified by such state within 



08 , PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

:ethod of ChooBing Blectors. Germ of a new Party. Jefferson elected President of the United States. 

Most of the Presidential electors at that time were chosen by the respective State 
legislatures, and not by the people, as now, and the contest was really commenced 
I'the election of members to those bodies. New York was regarded as the custo- 
ian of the balance of political power, and the election of that state which occurred 
t the close of April, 1800, was looked to with great anxiety by both parties. A rad- 
ial change had taken place. Burr, the most unscrupulous intriguer of the day, 
'orked incessantly, and ISTew York, which the year before gave the Federalists five 
undred majority, now gave almost as great a majority for the Democrats. The lat- 
;r were jubilant — the former were alarmed. 

At this time the germ of a new party was distinctly visible in Virginia and the 
;ates south of it, which was born of slavery and the. doctrine of independent state 
)vereignty. Virginia was its sponsor, and it allied itself to the Democratic party, 
.nd yet, strange as it may seem, Mr. Adams at this time looked to the Southern 
bates for his forlorn hope in the coming election contest. Believing Pickering and 
['Henry to be unpopular there, he abruptly called upon them to resign. M'Henry 
istantly complied, but Pickering refused. Adams dismissed him with little cere- 
ony.i The event caused much excitement, and had considerable influence in redu- 
ng , the Federal vote. Bitter animosities prevailed. Criminations and recrimina- 
ons ensued. 

The open war in the Federal party against Mr. Adams was waged by a few leaders, 
veral of whom resided in Essex County, Massachusetts, the early home of Picker- 
g, and on that account the irritated President called his assailants and opposers the 
Essex Jim to." He denounced them as slaves to British influence, some lured by 
onarchical proclivities, and others by English gold. Severe retorts followed ; and a 
imphlet from the pen of Hamilton, whom Adams had frequently assailed in conver- 
tion as a British sympathizer, and an enemy'to the ZSTational Constitution, damaged 
e President's political prospects materially. 

The result of the canvass was the triumph of the Democratic party. Jefierson was 
acted President of the United States, and Aaron Burr Vice-President,^ to the great 
<j of their partisans, who chanted, in efiect, 

'iiThe Federalists are down at last ! 
The Monarchists completely cast I 
The Aristocrats are stripped of power— 
I StoiTOS o'er the British faction lower. 

Soon we RepuUimns shall see 
Columbia's sons from bondage free. 
Lord ! how the Federalists will stare 
At Jeffeebon in Ahamb' chalrl"— r/ie Echo. 



own boundaries. These resolutions were offered to the Kentucky Legislature; hut the one avowing the absolute 
It of uulliflcation was modified or rather substituted by another, before the whole were put upon thSrpassaee This 
ion was in November 1T98. Within a month afterward John Taylor, of Caroline, an avowed secessSSduced 
> he Vn-^nia Legislature a senes of resolutions drawn by Mr. Madison, similar in spirit, but more can louVS^ex- 
ssion. They were adopted and, with a plea in their favor, were sent to the various State Legislatures In some of 
m they were handled roughly, and all that responded condemned them as unwarrantable and miscWevons excertinK 
iady-commtted Kentucky. These were the famous "Resolutions of 98," on which nullification inSTnd seces on 
wi?, ? fj .'•™''^™' '"*■ '°°1«V'" J°^''«°='t'™' The whole movement was of a local and temporary nature 
eraon and Madison were wielding dangerous weapons in their sturdy warfare for political power (for that was the 
aius of the whole matter) ; but they trusted the people, and believed, as Jefferson said in hfsTnau<mral tlrt ereat 

■Z^^.^r,l '°'"T^ ^*'" 'ITV^ '^^'- 'T '." °™^'" t"™' T"^' "'^"'fl"-« ™« secession' tsSaXowarrSo 
ir doctrmes m, the action of the Virginia Legislature at that time Mr. Madison distinctly declared mwe than thirtv 

fi'T,!"*- ?' '™''"' "f ''•' ^^^''^^''" ^^ ^«''J> "'■'^^"^ ^"-^ "Wy conducted, and are uStrd to have beiu 
Lsed for the press by most, f not all of the speakers, discloses no referelce wha^^ 'to acZti^uZllrtutZ S 
ml state to arrest by force the operation of a Uw of the UnUed States.«-See letter to Edward Everett AuiiTtWqTin 
SbiUior Corrcspond^ce ofJa^ Madis<m, published by J. C. M'Guire, of Washington &; privale 

John Marshall who was soon afterward appointed Chief Justice of the United States, took Pickering's nlace as Sec 
iry of Sta e, and Samuel Dexter was called to M'Henry's seat in the Cabinet as Secretary of War ^ ^ 
The Electoral College met, and theii- vote stood as follows : Jefferson, T3 ; Burr, T3 • Adams 65 • PiiiPtnov <u t„i,„ 
, 1. The votes or Jefferson and Burr being equal, the election, as pro;idedhy the CotSitio^ ^s caSdt to the 
se of Representatives. The occasion presented exciting scenes. On the first ballot ei»rstTe«Totefl f^'^ 'I^^^^ 
or Burr, and two (Vermont and Maryland) were divided. Two or three members were so sick that thev~--hf 
he House on beds. For seven da,ys the members were occupied in balloting. The FedCTalietfall voTed f„^^^^^^^^ 
he least offensive of the two candidates, bnt the friends of Jefferson were stronger than th^y ^ '"' ^""^' 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 109 



Mortification of tlie Federalists. Ins and Outs. Announcement of the Death of Washington. Its Effect. 

The mortification of the defeated party was intense, and new elements of strife 
soon mingled with the old (3auses of contention between the two parties. At these 
John Quincy Adams hinted whfen he said, " The election of Mr. Jefferson to the Pres- 
idency was, upon sectional feelings, the triumph of the South over the North, of the 
slave representation over the free. On party grounds, it was the victory of professed 
Bemocracy over Federalism, of French over British influence. The party overthrown 
was the whole Federal party. The whole Federal party was mortified and humili- 
ated at the triumph of Jefferson. * 

After an existence of eight years as a distinct political organization, the original 
Federal party fell, never to rise ■ again into power. Its noble monument is the ma- 
chinery of the national government, which its wise men devised and set in motion, 
and which still. performs its functions with admirable steadiness and increased power 
— machinery which the opposition declared to be weak and dangerous when they 
were in the minority, but which they adopted as sound and secure as soon as they 
came into power. The saying of English politicians, that a Tory in place becomes a 
Whig out of place, and a Whig when provided with a place becomes a Tory, was 
exemplified. 2 

While the nation was thus agitated by contending factions and menaced by the 
tempests of war, the great light of the republic, by whose steady planetary gleams 
the vessel of state had been long guided, and saved from the rocks and quicksands of 
faction and anarchy, suddenly went out. In the darkness that fell without twilight 
— without premonition — every discordant voice was for a moment hushed, for awe 
placed the finger of silence upon the lips of political partisans of every kind. The 
National Congress was then in session at Philadelphia. • Early on the morning of the 
18th of December* — a cold, crisp, winter morning — a courier with smoking ^^^^ 
steed dashed up to the Presidential mansion, and delivered a letter from the 
private secretary^ of the great leader, who had already been called Patee PATEiiE.'' 
The President was at breakfast. The seal was black wax. It was broken hastily by 
Mr. Adams, who read, " It is with inexpressible grief that I have to announce to you 
the death of the great and good General Washington. He died last evening, be- 
tween ten and eleven o'clock, after a short illness of about twenty-four hours. "^ 

There was grief in the President's household. There was grief in Congress 
when John Marshall announced" "Our Washington is no more." bDg„g„,bejj9 
There was grief in the streets of the national capital when the sad intel- 
ligence went from lip to ear all over the city within an hour' after the arrival of the 
courier. There was grief throughout the nation when the knell of the funeral bells 
in cities and villages, with chilling monotone, fell upon the ears of the people. There 
was grief in Europe when, forty days afterward, it was known in England and on the 
Continent. Lord Bridport lowered to half mast the flags of his great English fleet 



I See Life of William Mvmmer, p. 310. 

' A London paper in 1813 contained the following poetic version of the maxim, under the head of Definititm of 
Forties: 

"WHIG3 NETER IN, 

A Whig is never In ! How strange the story ! 
Turn in a Whig— he turns in a Tory I 

TORIES NEVER OUT. 

A Tory's never out 1 Strange whirligig ! 
Turn out a Tory— he turns out a Whig I 

INS AND OUTS. 

Why then turn all our brains with senseless rout ? 
Tory and Whig are merely In and Out." 

s Tobias Lear. 

* The late G. W. P. Cnstis, the adopted son of Washington, in a letter to his foster-father written at Annapolis, where 
he was at school, on the 12th of July, 1T98, after congratulating his guardian on his appointment to the command of the 
American army, said, " Let an admiring world again behold a Cinoinnatus springing up ftom rural retirement to the 
conquest of nations; and the future historian, in recording so great a name, insert that of the 'Fatlier o/hia Country.' " 

i Dated "Mount Vernon, December 15, 1799." 



no 



PICTORIAL riELD-BOOK 



Action of Congress on the Death ot Washin gton. Marks of Respect in Europe. Funeral Honore. M'Pheraon Bines. 

of sixty vessels then lying in Torbay ; and Bonaparte, just made First Consul of 
France, paid a beautiful tribute to the virtues of the beloved man in an order of the 
day to the French army, and in directing a funeral oration to be pronounced before 
liim. and the civil and military authorities.^ The Congress of his own country, by 
• De ember 23 J°™*' resolutions, decreed'" that a marble monument should be erected to 
1T99. ' his memory at the new Capitol on the Potomac ; that there should be 
a funeral procession from Congress Hall to the German Lutheran Church, where an 
oration should be pronounced by one of the members of Congress ; that the citizens 
of the United States should wear crape on their left arm as mourning for thirty days ; 
and that the President should send a letter of condolence to Mrs. Washington, and 
request that her husband's remains might be interred at the Capitol of the nation.^ 
They also recommended the people of the United States to assemble on the next an- 
f February 22, nivcrsary of Washington's birthday,* "to testify their grief by suitable 
1800. eulogies, orations, and discourses, or by ]3ublic prayers." 

General Henry Lee, the per- 
^ _ =^^ &=- sonal friend of Washington, and 

son of that " Lowland Beauty" 
whom the great patriot loved in 
his early youth, was the chosen 
orator. With rare eloquence he 
charmed the vast audience that 
thronged the Lutheran Church, 
the lai-gest in Philadelj^hia.' The 
If'Pherson Blues,'^ an elegant 
military corps of three hundred 
young men, were there as a guard 
of honor, and fired the accustom- 
ed military salute. On the ensu- 
ing 22d of February funeral ora- 
tions were pronounced in many 
places throughout the country ; 
and memorials of many kinds 
were speedily prepared, to per- 
petuate, by visible objects, the 
recollection of Washington's vir- 




TUE LUTHEEAN CHURCH IN ruiLADELrHIA. 



' This oration was delivered by Louis Fontaine in the Temple of Mars, at Paris, on the 8th of February, ISOO. In al- 
lusion to the young general and chief ruler of France before him, the orator said, in his peroration, '*Yes, thy counsels 
shall be heard, O Washington ! O warrior ! O legislator ! O citizen without reproach ! He who, while yet yovnij, rivals 
thee in battles, shall, like thee, with his triumphant hands, heal the wounds of his country. Even now we have his dis- 
position, his character for the pledge ; and his warlike genius, unfortunately necessary, shall soon lead sweet peace into 
this temple of war. Then the sentiment of universal joy shall obliterate the remembrance of oppression and injustice. 
Already the oppressed forget their ills iu looking to the future. The acclamations of every age will be offered to the 
hero who gives happiness to France, and seeks to restore it to a contending world." 

2 Mrs. Washington consented to the removal of her husband's remains to the National Capitol. But they have never 
been taken from his beloved Mount Venion. They never should be. That home of the illustrious patriot is now the 
property of the patriotic women of America, and should ever be consecrated by the presence of his tomb. The home 
.and tomb of our beloved friend should be inseparable, and these words of Lunt' should express the sentiments of every 
American ; 

*' Ay, leave him alone to sleep forever. 

Till the strong archangel calls for the dead, 
By the verdant bank of that gushing river 
Where first they pillowed his mighty head." 

' That German Lutheran Church is yet standing on Fourth Street, Philadelphia, above Arch Street. Lee's oration was 
hastily prepared, but was an admirable production. In it he used those memorable words, "Fiitsx in war, first in 
PEACE, FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS cf.HNTEYMEN." This oratloH may bo fouud in Cnstis' B Rerolla-tions of Washinqtm. 

1 This corps was composed of the elite of Philadelphia society. The costume is represented in an engraving in LoB- 
sing's Home of Washingtun, or Mmmt Vernon and its A Knociations, Six of those who were present on that occask)n.werc 
yet living in January, 1S62, and all were residents of Philadelphia, namely, Samuel Breck, aged ninety ; 8. Palmer,*aged 
eighty-one; S. F. Smith, aged eighty-one; Charles N. Bancker, aged eighty-tive ; Quintan Campbell, aged ein-hty-five, 
and Robert Carr, aged eighty-four. John F. Watson, the annalist of Philadelphia and New York, and who died in De- 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 



Ill 



Medal in Honor of Washington. 



Sketcli of Washington's Person and Character. 



tues and illustrious deeds..^ 
logy. 2 



The faithful history of those deeds is his best eu- 



' His glory fills the land— the plain, 

The moor, the mountain, and the mart I 
More firm than column, urn, or fane, 
His monument— the human heart. 
The Christian— patriot— hero— sage 1 

The chief from heaven in mercy sent ; 
His deeds are written on the age— 
His country is his monument." • 

Geogqe P, Mobbis. 



cember, 1860, was a memher. Colonel Carr, who was an officer in the War of 1812, informed me that he was one of the 
equad who fired the volleys on that occasion. The costume of the M'Pherson Blues is seen in the figure below. 



' Among many other tokens 
of respect published at that 
time was a silver medal, a lit- 
tle larger and thicker than the 
Spanish quarter of a dollar. 
One of these is in the posses- 
sion of the writer, and is repre- 
sented in the engraving. On 
one side is a profile of Wash- 
ington, inclosed in a wreath of 
laurel, and surrounded by the 
words, "he is tk gloey, the 
woKLD IN TEARS." Ou the re- 
verse is a memorial urn, and 




WASHINGTON MEDAL. 



around it, forming two circles, 
are abbreviations, seen in the 
engraving, signifying "Born 
February 11, 1T32 ; General of 
the American Army, 1775 ; re- 
signed 1783 ; President of the 
United States of America, 
1789 ( retired in 1796 ; General 
of the Armies of the United 
States, 1798; died December 
14, 1799." This medal was de- 
signed by Dudley A. Tyng, the 
collector of customs at New- 
buryport at that time, and en- 



graved and published, immediately after the death of Washington, by Jacob Perkins, the well-known ingenious me- 
chanic and engraver. He cut dies for this design of two sizes. 

2, A contemporary wrote as follows concerning Washington's person and character: 

" GENERAL WASHINGTON in his person was tall, upright, and well-made ; in manner easy and unaffected. His 
eyes were of a bluish cast, not prominent, indicative of deep thoughtfulness, and, when in action on great occasions, 
remarkably lively. His features strong, manly, and commanding ;. his temper reserved and serious ; his counte- 
nance grave, composed, and sensible. There was in his whole appearance an unusual dignity and gracefulness which 
at once secured for him profound respect and cordial esteem. He seemed bom to command his fellow-men. In his of- 
ficial capacity he received applicants for favors, and answered their requests with so much ease, condescension, and 
kindness, as that each retired believing himself a favorite of his chief. He had an excellent and well-cultivated under- 
standing; a correct, discerning, and comprehensive mind; a memory remarkably retentive ; energetic passions under 
perfect control ; a judgment sober, deliberate, and sound. He was a man of the strictest honor and honesty ; Ikir and 
honorable in his dealings ; punctual to his engagements. His disposition was mild, kind, and generous. Candor,- sin- 
cerity, moderation, and simplicity were, in common, prominent features in his character; but, when an occasion call- 
ed, he was capable of displaying the most determined bravery, firmness, and independence. He was an affectionate 
husband, a faithful friend, a humane master, and a father to the poor. He lived in the unvarying habits of regularity, 
temperance, and industry. He steadily rose at the dawn of day, and retired to rest usually at nine o'clock in the even- 
ing. The intermediate Hours all had their proper business assigned them. In his allotments for the revolving hours 
religion was not forgotten. Peeling, what he so often publicly acknowledged, his entire dependence on God, he .daily, 
at stated seasons, retired to his closet to worship at His footstool, and to ask His divine blessing. He was remarkable 
for his strict observation of the Sabbath, and exemplary in his attendance on public worship." 




PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK. 



aceful Promises. The Achievements of Bonaparte. His lufluence in Em-ope. Hatred of Great Britain. 




CHAPTER VI. 

" The Dey of Algiers, not afraid of his ears, 
Sent to Jonathan once for some tribute : 
' Ho ! ho r says the Dey, ' if the rascal don't pay, 

A caper or two I'll exhibit. 
I'm the Dey of Algiers, with a beard a yard long ; 
I'm a Mussulman, too, and of course very strong: 
For this is my maxim, dispute it who can, 
That a man of stout muscle's a stout Mussulman.' " 

I EFFERSON'S administration commenced under favorable aus- 
pices." There were omens of peace abroad, and these . March 4, 
promised calmness and prosperity at home. The ^^"i- 
league of England and the Continental powers against Bona- 
parte had failed to impede his progress in the path toward uni- 
versal dominion ; on the contrary, he had brought nearly all 
Europe trembling at his feet. Within the short space of two 
years he made himself master of all Italy, and humbled proud 
.ustria by a series of the most splendid victories on record. Within the circle of 
aother two years he had returned from his Oriental campaigns to receive the hom- 
^e of France, and accept its sceptre in republican form as First Consul. With the 
bsolute power of an emperor, which title he speedily assumed, he prepared to brmg 
) France still more wealth, territory, and glory, by extending her sway from Africa 
) the North Cape — from the Atlantic to the IJral Mountains. Old thrones shook ; 
nd when Bonaparte whispered peace all Europe listened eagerly, for they were 
'ords of hope for dynasties and nationalities. 

The preliminary Treaty of Luneville,"' affirming that of Campo-For- 

^801*"^^ ' mio,^ made four years earlier," rendered a reconstruction of the map of 

October IT, Europe necessary, for kings and princes had allowed the successful soldier 

^^^' to change the geographical lines of their dominions. Great Britain was 

?.ft alone in armed opposition to the conquering Corsican. Even her late allies 

gainst him, always jealous of her maritime superiority, were now his foes. The 

?ague of Northern powers, known as the Armed Neutrality,^ was re-established by 

December 10, treaty* at the instigation of the Emperor Paul, of Russia, and from their 

1800. council went forth the spirit of Cato's words concerning the offending 

ifrican city : Delenda est Carthago — " Carthage must be destroyed." They resolved 

D contradict by force her doctrine concerning the freedom of neutrals,^ and naval 

rmaments were put afloat. At the same time Bonaparte was threatening Great Brit- 

in with invasion, and her rich East India possessions with the tread of the conqueror. 

Although burdened with taxation to a degree before unknown, and wearied with 

er long contest with France and the Irish rebellion under her own roof,' Britain 

' The peace concluded at Luneville between the French Bepnbllc and the Emperor of Germany, after confirming the 
reaty of Campo-Formio, stipulated that the Bhine to the Dutch Territories should form the boundaries of France, and 
icognlzlng the independence of the Bavarian, Helvetic, Lignrian, and Cisalpine Republics. 

2 In the Treaty of Campo-Formio, between France and Austria, the latter yielded the Low Countries and the Ionian 
ilands to the former, and Milan, Mantua, and Modena to the Cisalpine Republic which Bonaparte had established in 
;aly. By a secret article, the Emperor of Austria took possession of the Venltian dominions, in compensation for the 
fetherlands. 3 gee note 2, on page 83. » See note 1, page 84. 

5 The Roman Catholics and the Protestant:Disscnters in Ireland were subjected to cruel and Insulting disabilities by 
le English in regard to both civil and religious privileges. In 1791 a society was formed, chiefly under the direction of 
folfe Tone, for the purpose of procuring Parliamentary reform in this matter. They were called "United Irishmen." 
hey were also animated by republican sentiments, and a hatred of England as an oppressor. Inspired by events in 



OF THE "WAK OF. 1812. ng 



Great Britain triumphant. Friendly Eelations witli Bonaparte. The sudden Change ridiculed. 

once more put forth her strength on the ocean. Parker and Nelson destroyed the 
Danish fleet at Copenhagen,"' and brought that government to submission ; i, April 2, 
the other powers of the league, alarmed, and deserted by Paul's successor, ^^"^• 
■withdrew from the unequal contest, and left England still boasting, as in Waller's 
time, two hundred years ago, that her ships were 

"Hiding without a rival on the sea;" 

or chanting, with the faith of Thomson, a hundred years later, 

"When Britain first, at Heaven's command, 

Arose from out the azure main, 
This was the charter of the land. 

And guardian angels sung the strain: 
Kule Britannia ; Britannia rules the waves ! 
Britons never shall he slaves." 

England was willing to have peace, but not with the loss of an iota of her power. 
A peace ministry, with Mr. Addington at its head, assumed the reins of government 
in the spring of 1801. It looked with favor upon the dispersion of the war-clouds 
which had so long brooded over Europe. During that year one after another of the 
Continental powers wheeled into the line of amicable relations with Bonaparte,^ and 
in March, 1802," by treaty at Amiens,^ he and George the Third became 
technical friends, much to the disgust of a powerful war party in England, ' 

who would not trust the word of the ambitious Corsican for an hour. They believed 
his object to be rest and gaining, of time, while he should make preparations for more 
formidable blows for the subjugation of Europe. But they were compelled to yield 
to the greater faith, or the greater needs, of the government and the majority. There 
was sunlight abroad, and a bow of promise in the sky. It seemed as if universal 
peace was about to be established in Europe, and Bonaparte was hailed as a pacifica- 
tor. England blazed with bonfires and illuminations ; was resopant with speeches 
and sermons ; feasted in public halls in testimony of her faith and joy, and enriched 
her literature with addi-esses and poems on the apparent dawning of a political mil- 
lennium. Forgetful of the past deeds of Bonaparte, which they had denounced as 
crimes, Englishmen flocked to Paris to bow before the rising sun of power, and car- 
ried back with them French fashions in abundance, as tokens of their satisfaction. 
The sly Corsican, chuckling over their obsequiousness, and their blindness to his real 
designs, treated the most distinguished of his English admirers with marked respect, 
and received in turn such fiilsome adulation that right-minded men in Great Britain 
blushed with shame.^ 

The machinery of government was all adjusted for the easy management of the 

Prance, these "United Irishmen," whose society extended all over the kingdom, resolved to strike for liberty and es- 
tablish a republican form of government for Ireland. In this they received the aid of France. They nominated an ex- 
ecntive directory in 1T9T. Their plans, carried on with the utmost secrecy, were ripe for execution, when they were dis- 
covered and denounced by a government spy. Many of the leaders were arrested, but an open, armed rebellion was sud- 
denly developed all over the kingdom in May, 1798. Great Britain put forth its military power, then strong at home, in 
ftnticipation of an invasion by the armies in France, and the insurrection was crushed in the course of a few months. 

1 France concluded a treaty of peace with Naples March 18, 1801 ; with Spain, March 21 ; with the Pope, July 15 ; with 
Bavaria, August 24 ; with Portugal, September 29 ; with Russia, October 4 j with Turkey, October 9 ; and with Algiers, 
December 7. x ' 

2 This was a treaty between Great Britain, Holland, France, and Spain. "Kie preliminary treaty had been signed on 
the 1st of October, 1801. The definitive treaty was signed by Lord Cornwallis, for England ; Joseph Bonaparte, for 
France ; Azara, for Spain, and Schimmelpenninck, for Holland. 

3 Among those who went over at that time were Charles James Pox and his nephew. Lord Holland, Lords Erskine, 
Grey, and other leading men. These visits excited the ridicule of satirists. Gillray's pencil was active. Several cari- 
catures fi-om his brain were speedily published. He ridiculed the visit of Fox and his friends in a caricature entitled 
"Introduction of Citizm Volprone amd Suite at Paris," in which Fox and his wife. Lord and Lady Holland, and Grey and Er- 
skine, are seen stooping low before the new ruler of France. One of the most popular of his caricatures was entitled "The 
first Kies this ten years, or tJie meeting of Britannia and Citizm Francois." Britannia, who has suddenly be.cpme corpu- 
lent, appears as a fine lady in full dress, her shield and spear leaning neglected against the wall. The fcitizen expresses 
his joy at the meeting in warm terms. "Madame," he says, "permittez me to pay my profound esteem to your en- 
gaging person, and to seal on your divine lips my everlasting attachment ! ! 1" The lady, blushing deeply, replies, 
"Monsieur, you are a truly well-bred gentleman ; and though you make me blush, yet you kiss so delicately I can not 
refuse you, though I was sm'e yon would deceive me again !" On the wall just behind these two figures aire portraits 
of King George and Bonaparte scowling at each other.— See Wright's England under the House of Banover, ii., 391. 

Il 



114 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Begmning of Jefferson's Administration. Appearance and Condition of the National Capital. Thomas Jefferson. 

new President of the United States. The treasury had never been so full, nor the 
revenue so abundant as at that time, and he was enabled to signalize the commence- 
ment of his administration and to strengthen it by tlie repeal of the excise and other 
obnoxious acts, which were necessary at the beginning. Commerce, and all the in- 
dustrial interests of the country, were 
flourishing, and the pathway of the new 
chief magistrate of the republic seemed 
plain, flowery, and luminous. 

The seat of government had just been 
removed to the city of Washington, the 
new capital of the nation, and then an in- 
significant village on the bank of the Poto- 
mac, on the verge of a Maryland forest,' in 
the District of Columbia. ^ There, in one 
of the wmgs of the half finished Capitol, 
the last session of Congress had been 
held ; and there, on the 4th of March, 1801, 
Chief Justice Marshall administered to 
Mr. Jefiferson the oath of office, and he 
became the third President of the United 
States.^ 

Although Jefierson was a radical Re- 
publican, he made no special changes m 
the inaugural ceremonies used by his pre- 
decessors. He abolished public levees at 
the Presidential mansion, and sent mes- 
sages in writing to Congress, instead of 




Wol'rn^ wL'L?" K°^ tf "™ atont forty rods from the Capitol, and several other houses are bnilt or erectin.. " Oliver 

to prociu-e it to be cut and carted. He has had recourse to coTls taf" Jf 7 "l' "f *°'* ''™ " ""=' impossible 
indeed, come into a new country " recourse to coals, but we can not get grates made and set. We have, 

Stltl'b"rhrsL.fes':Sa"nTannt.gSa"t\rr ^^t^fna^"^^ f *^ "''"'"''^' '^^ '^^'^«' *" "^^ ^""'"' 

ginia was retroceded to that state a few years ago The cUv of wVsWn^lr 6°^''-™"™'- The portion lying in Vir- 
of the Capitol was commenced in 1T0.3 when on the ls7b of A nTp f fw v"' ""' *''^™ '"^ "'l' «"<' *<= "'ection 
sonic ceremonies. The two win" werrcompleted in So/ The' ^'"'''^"''^ Washington laid the comer-stone, with ma- 
phia, moved to Washington in the .™tumn of 1800 government, which had resided ten years in Phlladel- 

^^'^^^^'^lfS:^.''cZi:^:^^^^^^ ^th of ApHUT.,. He was educated 

jonng man. He was a member of the Vtetaia A^eXv betreThrBe ', ? """ ''f ""'"^ '° ^^' ^'"^ '^^^^'^ 5'"' " very 
and writer. He was elected to the ContiSal Cong "es 'in ITO Td fn mf rthrreort'T" ^' '^ "S"™''^ "'"'^" 
was a member, he drew up the Declaration of IndependeLe He w a, "ff"^ 1 - of a committee of which he 

on account of feeble health. lu 1779 he was elected Governor' JvZf^if f- V,cf '"'""5' *" ^'''^'^o^ t>"t declined it 
voted his time chiefly to literary and scienfiL pursuit^ I^wafsInfoFV nt'^^^ \T »""'" '"'' '^^ ''- 

representative of his country, and In ITS'i sncceefled Tr,.,„i.r„ ■ ■ J° ^'™™ "> I'Sc, to jom Adams and Franklin as 

til 1T89 when he returned, a'nd enVe^ed wX^ on-fcab n °t a SertrrVof Sraf/^H ''""'•• °^ '^™--^ *^~ 
n93. He was elected Vice-President of .he United States inmS 2 BoT^^s efettrtrtre '^.^^:"^:^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 115 



Mr. Jefferson foreshadows Ma Policy . His Popularity. A National Party desired. Political Proscription begun. 

delivering speeches in person, because he considered these customs too monarchical 
in form.i ' ' 

A small military and civic escort conducted Mr. Jefferson to the Capitol, and there 
he read his inaugural address to a large crowd of delighted listeners. It had been 
looked for with anxiety, as it would foreshadow the policy of the new administration. ^ 
It was patriotic, conservative, and conciliatory, and allayed many apprehensions of 
his political opponents. " Every difference of opinion," he said, "is not a difference of 
principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We 
are all Federalists — ^we are all Republicans."' 

In this spirit Mr. Jefferson commenced his administration. He set about the reform 
of public abuses, treated every body with kiudness, and left most of the incumbents 
of public offices untouched for a while.* His political enemies were compelled to con- 
fess his forecast, wisdom, and faithfulness ; and many Federalists, believing that he 
would not disturb their friends in office, joined the Republican party, and became the 
most vehement denunciators of their old partisans and their principles. ° 

Mr. Jefferson soon discovered that he was not wholly his own master. He had 
been elevated to power by a party whose leaders, like those of all parties, were 
lustful for office. He was compelled to listen to their clamors, and finally to yield 
acquiescence in their doctrine that "to the victor belongs the spoils,"" He grad- 
ually filled many of the most important offices in his gift with his political friends, 
for whose accommodation faithful men, a large proportion of them appointed by 
Washington and retained by Adams, were removed. Thus was developed in alarm- 
ing proportions that system of proscription commenced by the second President, 
which has worked mischievously in the administration of our general and state gov- 
ernments from that time until the present. It bore immediate fruit in the form of 
bitter partisanship. The Federalists, now become the opposition, and thereby hav- 
ing the advantage in controversy, began a relentless warfare upon, the new admin- 
istration as soon as its prescriptive policy was manifested. With that warfare, as a 
mere game of politics, we have nothing to do, except so far as it had a bearing upon 

re-elected in 1805, and in 1809 retired to private life, from whicli he was never again drawn. He died at his residence at 
Monticello on the 4th of July, 1826, in the S4th year of his age. Like Adams, he departed on the fiftieth anniversary of 
the Declaration of Independence. The profile of Mr. Jefferson, given on page 114, is from an impression from a pri- 
vate plate made in aqnatinta aboat the year 1804, and presented by the President to the Hon. D. C.Verplanck, who was a 
member of Congress from 1803 until 1809. 

1 The personal appearance of President Jefferson at this period may be imagined from the following description by 
William Plumer, United States senator from New Hampshire in 1802 : " The next day after my arrival I visited the 
President, accompanied by some Democratic members. In a few moments after our arrival a tall, high-boned man 
came into the room. He was dressed, or rather undressed, in an old brown coat, red waistcoat, old cordnroy small- 
clothes much soiled, woolen hose, and slippers without heels. I thought him a servant, when General Vamum sur- 
prised me by announcing that it was the President."— See Ufe of ViUiam Plumer, p. 242. 

» In a letter to Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina, on the 14th of May, Mr. Jefferson indicated his policy as follows; 
" 1. Levees are done away with. 2. The tost communication to the next ConsresB will be, like all subsequent ones, by 
message, to which no answer will be expected. 3. The diplomatic establishment in Europe will be reduced to three 
ministers. 4. The compensation of collectors depends on you [Congi'esa], and not on me. 6. The army is undergoing 
a chaste reformation. 6. The navy will be reduced to the legal establishment by the last of this month. 7. Agencies 
in every department will be revised. 8. We shall push you to the uttermost in economizing. 9. A very early recom- 
mendation has been given to the Postmaster General to employ no printer, foreigner, or Revolutionary Tory in any of 
his oiBces." 

3 See the Statesnum^s Manual, i., 242, where the President's inaugural message is printed in full. 

* Mr. Jefferson appointed James Madison Secretary of State, Henry Dearborn Secretary of War, and Levi Lincoln At- 
torney General. He retained Mr. Adams's Secretaries of the Treasury and Navy until the following autumn, when 
Albert Gallatin was appointed to the first, and Robert Smith to the second. These were both Republicans, and his Cabi- 
net was now wholly so. 

' Mr. Jefferson dreamed, patriotically, of a consolidated national party and a brilliant administration. In a letter to 
John Dickinson, two days after his inauguration, he wrote, "I hope to see shortly a perfect consolidation, to effect 
which, nothing shall be wanting on my part short of the abandonment of the principles of the Revolution. A just and 
solid republican government maintained here, will be a standing monument and example for the aim and imitation of 
the people of other countiies." Tet he early resolved on rewards to friends. To Colonel Monroe he wrote on the 7th 
of March, "To give time for a perfect consolidation seems prudent. I have firmly refused to follow the counsels of 
those who have desired the giving of offices to some of the Federalist leaders in order to reconcile. I have given, and 
will give, only to Republicans, under existing circumstances." 

« This doctrine was first announced in these words by the late William L. Marcy when he assumed the administration 
of the public affairs of the State of New York as governor in 1833. 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



16 

eason for giving a History of Parties. The Navy reduced. Unwise Economy. Tribute to the Barbary Fowere. 

ublic events during the few years immediately preceding the War of 1812, and held 

elationship thereto. , , , , , <.^t. • j 

It seems proper at this point in our narrative to say, that the sketch of the rise and 
i-ogress of the two great political parties which existed in the United States at the 
leginning of the present century, and whose animosities and aspirations had much to 
in bringing about a war in 1812, has been given for the purpose, first, to afford our 
•eneral subject that much-needed elucidation, and, secondly, to connect by dependent 
inks of historic outlines the events of the Fiest with those of the Second Wae eoe 

NDBPENDENCE. 

March ^t % close of Mr. Adams's administration," Congress passed a law^ au- 
isoi! ' thorizing the President to place the navy on a rigid peace footing, by retain- 
iig only thirteen frigates,^ and only six of these to be kept in active service.^ The 
,ct authorized him to dismantle and sell all others, and lay up seven of the thirteen 
ti a way in which they might be carefully preserved. It also authorized him to re- 
Luce the complement of officers and men, by retaining in the service, in time of peace, 
inly nine captains, thirty-six lieutenants, and one hundred and fifty midshipmen, in- 
luding those employed on the six frigates kept in active service, and to discharge the 
emainder. Under this authority, and in accordance with his own judgment concern- 
Qg rigid economy and the prospect of universal peace, Mr. Jefferson sold all but the 
hirteen frigates named, laid up seven of these, and discharged all the officers and 
Qen in excess after placing the service on a peace footing. And yet, in the matter 
)f force, nearly four fifths was retained, for the vessels sold were mostly inferior, and 
mly fourteen of them had been built expressly for the government service. The Pres- 
dent also suspended work on six Bhips authorized by Congress in 1798. So little did 
he American people then seem to apprehend the value of a competent navy for the 
jrotection of their commerce every where, as well as the honor of the nation, that a 
najority of them applauded these measures, while many Federalists assailed them 
mly for political effect. That strong arm of the government which had so protected 
jommerce as to enable the Americans to sell to foreign countries, during the difficul- 
iies with France, surplus products to the amount of $200,000,000, and to import suf- 
icient to yield the government a revenue exceeding $23,000,000, was thus paralyzed 
3y an unwise economy in public expenditure. 

The conduct of the Barbary Powers soon made the want of an efficient navy pain- 
Eully apparent. The government of the United States had purchased, by the pay- 
ment in full of a stipulated sum of money, the friendship, or rather the forbearance of 
the Bey of Tripoli, while to the Dey of Algiers and the Bey of Tunis tribute in money, 
military and maritime stores, and other presents was annually paid.^ The submis- 
sion of all the Christian nations of Europe to these exactions made those pirate-kings 
exceedingly insolent, and finally, in the spring of 1801, the President resolved to 
humble the pride and the power of those commercial marauders, release American 
commerce from their thrall in the Mediterranean, and assert the dignity of his coun- 
try by ceasing to pay tribute to another. This resolution was strengthened by the 

■ Approved March 3, 1801. 

2 These were the United States, Con^titutwn, President, Chesapeake, PhUaddphia, CoristeUation, CoTigress, New YarJc, Bos- 
Urn, Essex, Adams, John Adams, and Gmi&ral Greene. These had an aggregate armament of 364 gnns. The vessels sold 
were the George Washington, Ganges, P&rtsmovih, Merrinmck, Connecticut, of 24 guns each ; the BaMm&re, Delaware, and 
Mon,tezuma, of 20 guns each ; the Maryland, Patapsco, Herald, TrumbuU, Warren, Norfolk, Richmond, and Pinckney, of IS 
guns each ; the Ea^jle, Augusta, and Scamml, 14 guns each ; the Experiment, 9 guns, and nine galleys. — Cooper, i., 383-4. 

3 Colonel Ebenezer Stevens, an active and eminent merchant of NewTork, and who had been a meritorious artillery 
ojiicer during the Eevolution, was employed by the government as its factor in forwarding the stores to Tunis. In 
May, 1801, Secretary Madison wrote to Mr. Stevens on the subject, saying, "It Is desirable that the remaining cargo 
of maritime and military stores due to the Regency of Tunis should be provided and shipped without loss of time. The 
powder will be given to you from the public magazines, and the Navy Department will give orders to its agent at New 
York or elsewhere, as may be most convenient, to supply the cannon and such other articles as you may want and can 
be spared."— ilfS. letter. How much cheaper and more dignified It would have been to have sent the materials in ships 
of war, fully prepared, as they might have been, to knock the capitals of those semi-barbaric rulers about their ears, 
and sink their corsairs in the deep waters of the Mediterranean ! 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



IIY 



Bainbridge at Algiers and Constantinople. His Treatment at each. Good Effect of his Visit to Constantinople. 

insolent treatment of Commodore Bainbridge by the Dey of Algiers the previous 
year. In May, 1800, Bainbridge, in command of the George Washington, 24, went 
out with the usual tribute to the Algerine ruler. He arrived in the port of his capi- 
tal in September, performed with courtesy the duties enjoined upon him, and was 
about to leave, when the Dey commanded him to carry an Algerine embassador to 
the Court of the Sultan at Constantinople. Bainbridge politely refused compliance, 
when the haughty and offended Dey said sternly, " You pay me tribute, by which 
you become my slaves, and therefore I have a right to order you as I think proper." 
The guns of the castle were looking out vigilantly upon Bainbridge's frigate, and 
without their permission he could not pass out of the harbor. He was compelled to 
yield to the force of 

circvtmstances, being _._&5i - 

assured by Mr. O'Bri- _ ^ 

en, once a captive and — 

then American consul 
there, that if he at- 
tempted to leave the 
harbor, the guns of the 
castle, heavy and well- 
manned, would open 
upon his vessel with 
destructive effect, hi^ 
ship would be seized 
and used for the pui- 
pose, and war would 
ensue. To avoid these 
calamities Bainbridge 
bowed submissively 
to the humiliation ; 
and he even complied 
with the haughty ruler's farther requisition, that he should carry the Algerine flag at 
the main, and that of the United States at the fore. He sailed out of the port of 
Alo-iers an obedient slave, and then, placing his own flag in the position of honor as a 
freeman he bore the Algerine embassador to the Golden Horn. " I hope," he wrote 
to the Secretary of the Navy, " I shall never again be sent to Algiers with tribute, 
unless I am authorized to deliver it from the mouth of our cannon." 

Under other circumstances this trip to the ancient city of Constantinople would 
have been a desirable one, for Bainbridge had the honor of displaying the stars and 
stripes for the first time before that famous seat of Ottoman empire. The Sultan 
and his o-reat oflicers of state were astonished. They had never heard of the United 
States ■ but when, at length, they were made to comprehend that it was a country 
beyond the great sea, discovered by Columbus, of which they had heard vague and 
romantic rumors, Bainbridge was received with the greatest courtesy. He and the 
Turkish admiral became warm friends ; and when Bainbridge was about to return to 
Alo-iers in January, the latter gave him a, firman to protect him from farther inso- 
lence there. The Sultan, whose flag bore the crescent moon, drew a favorable omen 
from this visit of a banner bearing its neighbors, the stars of heaven. He believed 
the two nations must ever be friends, and so they have been. 

On his return to Algiers" the Dey requested Bainbridge to go on an- . jann.wy 21, 
other errand to Consta'ntinople. Bainbridge peremptorily refused. The i^^»i- 

Dey flew into a rage, threatened war, and finally menaced the captain with personal 
violence. Bainbridge quietly produced hh firman, when the fierce governor became 
lamb-like and obsequiously offered to the man he had just looked upon as his slave, 




ALGIEES IN ISOO. 



118 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The Dey of Algiers humbled. 



Insolence of the Bey of Tunis. 



Commodore Dale in the Mediterranean. 



friendship and service. Taking advantage of this change, Bambridge assumed the 
air of a dictator, and demanded the instant release of the French consul and fifty or 
sixty of his countrymen, who had lately been imprisoned by the Dey. When Barn- 
bridge left he carried away with him all the French in Algiers. His compulsory visit 
to Constantinople resulted in great good to his fellow-men. 

The Bey or Bashaw of Tripoli,^ not content with the gross sum that had been paid 
him by the United States, when he learned that his neighbors had received larger 
bribes than he, demanded tribute in the autumn of 1800, and threatened war if his 
demand was not satisfied within six months. Accordingly, in May, 1801, he ordered 
the flag-staff of the American consulate to be cut down, and proclaimed war. In an- 
ticipattou of these events. Commodore Dale had been sent with a small squadron, con- 
sisting o{ the Fresideiit, 44, Captain James Barron; Philadelphia, 38, Captain Samuel 
Barron; Essex, 32, Captain Bainbridge, and Enterprise, 12, Lieutenant Commandant 
Sterrett. 'Yhe President was Dale's flag-ship. The squadron sailed fromHamptonRoade, 
and reached Gibraltar on the 1st of July. Dale soon proceeded eastward in company 
with the Enterprise, 
and appeared off Trip- 
oli and Tunis, to the 
great astonishment of 
the rulers of those 
states. On the way 
the Enterprise fell in 
with, attacked, and 
captured a Tripoli- 
tan corsair called the 
Tripoli, reducing her, 
in the course of an 
engagement of three 
hours, almost to a 
wreck, and killing and 
wounding twenty of 
her men, without the 
loss of a single man on 
her side.^ Meanwhile 
the Philadelphia was 



of Gibraltar, to pre- 
vent two Tripolitan 
corsairs which were 
found there going out 
upon the Atlantic ; 
and the Essex sailed 
along the northern 
shores of the Medi- 
terranean, to convoy 
American merchant 
ships. Dale contin- 
ued, to cruise in the 
Mediterranean until 
autumn, and his j)res- 
ence exercised a most 
wholesome restraint 
over the corsairs.^ 
Another expedition 
was sent to the Medi- 
terranean in 1802, under 
cruising in the Straits ~ """^ Commodore Richard V. 

Morris. It Avas a relief squadron, and consisted of the Chesapjeahe, 38, Lieutenant 
Chauncey, acting captain ; Constellation, 38, Captain Murray ; New YorJc, 36, Cap- 
tain James Barron; Jolm Adams, 28, Captain Rodgers; Adams, 28, Captain Camp- 
bell, and Enterprise, 12, Lieutenant Commandant Sterrett. Morris hoisted his broad 
pennant on board the Chesapeake. The squadron did not go in a body, but pro- 
ceeded one after another from February until September. Meanwhile the Poston, 




1 This "was Jussuf Caramalli. He was a third son, and had obtained the seat of power by violence. He murdered 
his father and elder brother, and deposed his next brother, Hamet, the rightful heir, who at this time was an exile in 
Etrypt, whither he fled to save his life, followed by quite a large number of adherents. 

- The rai!^ or commander of the Tripoli was Mahomet Sous. Three times during the engagement the Trijjoli struck 
her colors, and ae often treacherously renewed the combat, when Lieutenant Sterrett determined to sinl: her. She w.^s 
too much of a wreclc to be taken into port — indeed, according to instructions, she could not be made a prize— and she 
was dismantled under the direction of Lieutenant David Porter. When her commander reached Tripoli, wounded and 
heart-broken, he was subjected to great indignity. He was placed upon a jackass, paraded through the streets, and aft- 
erward received the bastinado. 

3 Richard Dale was born near Norfolk, Virginia, on the 0th of November, 1T5G. He went to sea at the age of twelve 
years, and continued in the merchant service until 1770, when he became lieutenant of a Virginia cruiser. He was an 
active oiHcer during the whole war of the Revolution, and was with Paul Jones in his gallant action with the Scrapis in 
September, 1770, He was then only about twenty-three years of age. He was a great favorite with Jones, and the latter 
presented to Dale the elegant gold-mounted sword which Jones received from the King of France. It is now in the pos- 
session of his grandson, Richard Dale, of Philadelphia, where I saw it in November, 1801. The handle, guard, and hilt, 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 119 



Tripoli and its Cruisers blodiaded. Abandonment of the Barbary Coast. Commodores Morris and Dale. 

commanded by the eccentric Captain M'Neill (son of Hector M'Neill, of the Revo- 
lutionary navy),i was cruising in the Mediterranean in an independent way, after 
conveying Robert R. Livingston, the United States minister, to France. The port 
of Tripoli was blockaded by her early in May, where she was joined by the Con- 
stellation. The latter vessel was soon left alone, as M'Neill avoided the company of 
others, and- not long afterward she had a severe contest with a flotilla of seventeen 
Tripolitan gun-boats. She handled them severely, as well as some cavalry on the 
shore, with her great guns. 

The Chesapeake reached Gibraltar on the 25th of May, and found the Essex, Cap- 
tain Bambridge, still blockading the two Tripolitan cruisers there. The arrival of 
the Adams late in July enabled the Chesapeake, in company with the Enterpi-ise, to 
cruise along the north shore of the Mediterranean for the protection of American 
commerce. Finally orders were given for the diflferent vessels of the squadron to 
rendezvous at Malta. They collected there in the course of the month of January, 
1803, and during the spring appeared off the ports of the Barbary Powers, and ef- 
fectually restraining their corsairs. Tripoli was blockaded by the John Adams in 
May. She had a severe engagement toward the close of the month with gun-boats 
and land batteries. These suffered severely, and the Americans lost twelve or fifteen 
in killed and wounded. An unsuccessful attempt to negotiate a peace was made the 
next day, and in June the movements of the Algerine and Tunisian corsairs induced 
the Americans to raise the blockade. But, before leaving, Commodore Rodgers, of 
the John Adams (then in chief command), with the Enterprise, attacked a large Tri- 
politan corsair lying in a sheltered bay, and drove her people to the shore. The cor- 
sair soon afterward blew up, with a large number of joersons who had returned to 
her. The ships then all left the Barbary coast, and Commodore Morris returned 
home. He arrived toward the close of November, 1803. The conduct of aftairs in 
the Mediterranean under his direction was not satisfactory. A court of inquiry de- 
cided that he had not " discovered due diligence and activity in annoying the enemy," 
and the President, with a precipitation difficult to be defended, dismissed him from 
the service without trial. ^ 

The United States government had determined to act with more vigor against the 
Barbary Powers, and in May, 1803, Commodore Preble was appointed to the com- 

andthe mountings of the scabbard are solid gold, with bean- 
t if ully- wrought devices on them. Upon the blade is the fol- 
lowing inscription : vindicati maris ludivious xvi. remu- 
XEEATOR sTRENuo VTETUTi — " Louis XVI. rewardcr of the 
valiant aeserter of the freedom of the sea." 

Dale left the service in 17S0, In 1794 he was appointed 
one of the six naval captains by Washington. He was made 
commodore in 1801 by being placed in command of a squad- 
ron, and the following year he resigned. He retired with a 
competency, and spent the remainder of his days in Philadel- 
phia, where he died in 1826, in the sixty-ninth year of his 
age. 

The grave of Commodore Dale is in Christ Church-yard, on 
Fifth Street, Philadelphia. His monument is a marble slab, 
with the follo\\'ing inscription: *'Iu memory of Commodore 
RiouARD Dale, born November 6, 1750, died February 24, 
1826. An honest man, an incorruptible patriot, in all his re- 
lations conciliating universal love. A Christian without 
guile, he departed this life in the well-founded and triumph- 
ant hope of that blessedness which awaits all who, like him, 
die in the Lord." On the same slab is an inscription com- 
memorative of the virtues of his wife, who died in Septem- dale's monuaient. 
ber, 1832, at the age of sixty-five years. Very near this tomb 

is a handsome marble cross, erected to the memory of Montgomery, a son of Commodore Dale, also ofthe United States 
navy, who died in December, 1S52, at the age of fifty -five years. 

^ See Lossing's Field-Boole of the Revolution, ii., 640. 

2 Richard Valentine Morris was the youngest son of Lewis Morris, of Morrisania, New York, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. He entered the service in early life, and in June, 1798, he was commissioned a captain in 
the navy. He was retained as fifth in rank at the reduction of the navy in 1801. His dismissal from the service has 
ever been considered a high-handed political measure. He died while attending the Legislature at Albany in 1814. 




120 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 




/^^^^ a^-f^ 





Squadron under Preble in the Mediterr aneau. Settlement of Difflculties with Morocco. Capture ot the Philaddphia. 

mand of a squadron, consisting of the 
Constitiitio?i, 44, Fhiladelphia, 38, Ar- 
gus and Siren, 16 each, and Nautilus, 
Yixen,&n(\. Enterprise, 12 each. Preble 
sailed in the Constitution at the middle 
of August, and the other vessels follow- 
ed as fast as they were made ready. 
The PhiladeipMa, Captain Bainbridge, 
had sailed in July, and on the 26th of 
August captured the Moorish frigate 
Meshhoha, found holding in possession 
an American merchant vessel which 
she had taken as a prize. It was dis- 
covered that her commander was act- 
ing under the orders of the Moorish 
Governor of Tangiers to cruise for 
American vessels. The Philadelphia 
returned to Gibraltar with her prize. 

On the arrival of Preble he determ- 
ined to sail for Tangiers and make in- 
quiries respecting the hostile proceed- 
ings of the Moors. He was accompa- 
nied by Commodore Rodgers, and on 
the 6th of October the Constitution, 
New York, John Adams, and Nautilus 
entered the Bay of Tangiers. Preble 
had an interview with the Emperor of Morocco, who disavowed the act of the Gov- 
ernor of Tangiers, and expressed a desire to remain at peace with the United States. 
The difficulty with Morocco being settled, Rodgers sailed for home, and Preble 
made energetic preparations to bring Tripoli to terms. A serious disaster soon oc- 
curred. On the morning of the 31st of October the Philadelphia chased a Tripolitan 
ship into the harbor of Tripoli. In endeavoring to beat off she struck on a rock not 
laid down in any of the charts. Every effort to get her off failed, and she was at- 
tacked and finally captured by the Tripolitans. Bainbridge and his officers and men 
were made prisoners, and two days afterward the ship was extricated and taken into the 
harbor. The officers were treated as prisoners of war, but the crew were made slaves. 
Bainbridge found means to report his misfortune to Preble at Malta, and to sug- 
gest the destruction of the Philadelphia, which was being fitted for sea. Preble had 
recently appeared off Tripoli for the first time. On the 23d of December the Enter- 
p>rise. Lieutenant Decatur, sailing in company with the flag-ship, captured a ketch 
called the Mastico, then belonging to the Tripolitans, and bound to Constantinople 
with a present of female slaves for the Sultan. Heavy storms arose, and Preble and 
Decatur sailed into Syracuse, where the ketch was appraised and taken into the 
service, with the name of the Intrepid. 

Decatur had formed a plan for cutting out or destroying the Philadelphia. It was 
approved by Preble ; and on the 3d of February, 1804", he left Syracuse with orders 
and preparations to destroy her. The Intrepid was chosen for the service, and sev- 
enty-four determined young men sailed in her for the port of Tripoli, accompanied by 
the brig Siren, Lieutenant Stewart. Heavy storms delayed their operations until the 
16th, when, in the evening, the young moon shining brightly, the Intrepid sailed into 
the harbor, and was warped alongside the Philadelphia without exciting suspicion, 
she having assumed the character of a vessel in distress. Most of the officers and 
men were concealed until the ketch was placed alongside the Philadelphia. Then 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 121 

Destroction of the PhUadelphia. Tripoli bomljaraea. A hand to hand Fight. Gallantry of Deoatnr. 

for the first, the Tripolitans suspected them. At the same moment Decatur and 
other officers sprang on board the frigate, followed by their men. In a few minutes 
the turbaned defenders of the Yessel were all killed or driven into the sea. She was 
immediately set on fire, in the midst of the roar of cannon from the Tripolitan bat- 
teries and castle, and from two corsairs near. The scene was magnificent ; and as the 
guns of the Philadelphia became heated they were -discharged. # The Intrepid was in 
imminent danger from the flames, but she escaped. Not one of the gallant Decatur's 
men was killed, and only four were wounded. In the light of the conflagration the 
Intrq>id,hj the aid of oars, swept out of the harbor, where the boats of the Siren, 
with their strong sweeps, were in readiness to aid in towing her off. Before a pleas- 
ant breeze both vessels sailed for Syracuse, where the American squadron and the 
people of the town welcomed them with strong demonstrations of joy. For this he- 
roic act Decatur was promoted to captain, and several of the other- officers who ac- 
companied him were advanced. 

This bold act greatly alarmed the Bey or Bashaw of Tripoli, and the ensuing block- 
ade of his port by Commodore Preble made him exceedingly circumspect. Finally, 
at the close of July,* Preble entered the harbor of Tripoli with his squadron, and 
anchored the Constitution two and a half miles from the walled city, whose pro- 
tection lay in heavy batteries mounting one hundred and fifteen cannon, nine- 
teen gun-boats, a brig, two schooners, and some galleys, twenty-five thousand 
land-soldiers, and a sheltering reef of dangerous rocks and shoals. These did 
not dismay Preble. On the 3d of August, at three in the afternoon, he opened 
a heavy cannonade and bombardment from his gun-boats, which alone could 
get near enough for effective service. Confiict in closer range soon took 
place, and finally Lieutenant Decatur, commanding gun-boat Number Four, 
lay his vessel alongside one of the largest of those of the enemy, and boarded 
and captured her after a desperate struggle. ^ He immediately boarded an- 
other, when he had a most desperate personal encounter with the powerful 
Tripolitan captain. The struggle was brief but deadly. The captain was 
finally killed by Decatur at a moment of fearful peril, and the vessel was 
captured.^ After a general confiict of two hours, during which time three 
of the enemy's gun-boats were sunk in the harbor, three of them captured, and 
a heavy loss of life had been suffered by the Tripolitans, the Americans thought 
it prudent to withdraw, but to renew the confiict four days afterward. 

The second attack on Tripoli commenced at half past two o'clock in the 
afternoon of the 7th. "^ An hour afterward a hot shot from the town 
» August, paggg^ juto the hull of gun-boat Number Nine, one of the prizes 
captured on the 3d, and fired her magazine. The vessel was destroyed, and 
with it her commander. Lieutenant Caldwell, of the IHren, Midshipman Dor- 
sey, and eight of her crew. Six others were wounded. When the smoke 
cleared away her bow only was above water. On it were Midshipman Rob- 
ert "T. Spence and eleven men, busily engaged in loading the long 24-pounder 
with which she was armed. They gave three loud cheers, discharged the 
gun at the enemy, and a moment afterward were picked from the water by 
men in boats, for the wreck on which they stood, with its great gun, had 
gone to the bottom. 

Ao-ain, after inflicting some damage upon the enemy, the Americans with- 
drew, but renewed the attack on the 24th of the same month, ihis was weapon. 

1 While Captain Decatur was thus gallantly assailing the enemy, his yonnger brother James, first lieutenant of the 
Nautilus, was as bravely emulating his example, in command of gun-boat Nvmber Tmo. He had caused the surrender of 
one of the enemy's largest vessels, and was boarding her to take possession, when the captain of the surrendered vessel 
treacherously shot him and escaped. The miscreant's pistol was loaded with two balls connected by a wire. The wire 
struck Decatur on the forehead, and bending, the two balls entered his temples, one on each side, and killed him in- 
stantly. He was the only American ofllcer killed in this engagement. 

2 Decatur attacked the Tripolitan captain w.ith a pike. The assailed seized it and turned it upon his assailant. Deca- 



THIPOHTAN 



PICTORIAL PIELD-BOOK 



22 

ripoli bombarded the Fifth Time. A floating Mine. It. Explosion in the Harbor of Tripoli. 

irief, and without any important results. But on the 29th a fourth and more formi- 
[able attack was made by the American gun-boats, commencmg at three o clock m the 
aorning. The conflict continued until daylight, with great fury on both sides, when 
he ConstUution ran toward the harbor, under heavy fire from the Bashaw's castle 
nd Fort English. She signaled the gun-boats to withdraw, correctly supposmg their 
mmunition to be nearly exhausted. This was done under the fire of the Constitution, 
rhich, with grape and round shot, greatly damaged the gun-boats of the enemy and 
aused them to retreat. She then ran in, and opened a heavy fire upon the town, bat- 
eriesj and castle. She soon silenced the guns of the castle and two batteries, sunk a 
[■unisian vessel, damaged a Spanish one, severely bruised the enemy's galleys and 
;un-boats, and then withdrew, without having a man hurt. , 

' The American squadron lay at. anchor off Tripoli until the 2d of September repair- 
ng damages. It then sailed for the harbor, where it arrived on the afternoon of the 
Id. The enemy, profiting by experience, had adopted new tactics. The change corn- 
jelled Preble to modify his own plan. At half past three in the afternoon the bomb- 
:etches opened the conflict by bombarding the town. The Constitution ran down to 
he rocky reef and opened a heavy flre, at grape-shot distance, upon the castle and the 
ity. She poured in eleven effective broadsides, while the smaller vessels were car- 
ying on the conflict at other points. The general engagement lasted an hour and a 
[uarter, when, the wind rising freshly, the commander, in the exercise of prudence, 
;ave a signal for the squadron to withdraw. 

' The ketch Intrepid, used in the destruction of the Philadelphia, had been converted 
tito a floating mine, for the purpose of destroying the enemy's cruisers in the harbor 
tf TripoH One hundred barrels of gunpowder were placed in a room below deck, 
md immediately above them a large quantity of shot, shell, and irregular pieces of 
ron were deposited. In other parts of the vessel combustibles were placed, and she 
vas made ia every way a most disagreeable neighbor. On the night succeeding the 
Lfth bombardment of Tripoli she was sent into the harbor on her destructive mission, 
inder the command of Captain Somers, who had behaved gallantly during the recent 
ittacks on the town. He was assisted by Lieutenant Wadsworth, of the Constitution, 
md Mr. Israel, an ardent young oflicer, who got on board the ketch by stealth. These, 
vith a few men to work the Intrepid, and the crews of two boats employed in towing 
ler, composed the expedition. 

At nine o'clock in the evening the Intrepid entered the harbor on her perilous mis- 
iion. The night was very dark, and she soon disappeared iu the gloom. Many eager 
syes were turned in the direction where her shadowy form was last seen. All hearts 
n the squadron beat quickly with anxiety. Suddenly a fierce and lurid light streamed 
ip from the dark bosom of the waters like volcanic fires, and illuminated with its 
lorrid gleams the rocks, forts, flotilla, castle, town, and the broad expanse of the har- 
Dor, followed instantly by an explosion that made all surrounding object's tremble. 
Flaming masts and sails and fiery bombs rained upon the waters for a few moments, 

;ur drew his cutlass and attempted to cut off the head of the pike, when his weapon snapped at the hilt, and he was left 
ipparently at the mercy of the Turk. He parried the thrust of the Tripolitan, and sprang upon and clutched him by the 
;hroat. A trial of strength ensued, and they both fell to the deck. The Tripolitan attempted, as they lay, to draw a 
small poniard from his sash. Decatur perceived the movement, grasped the hand that held the deadly steel, and drew 
from his own pocket a small pistol, which he passed round the body of his antagonist, pointed it inward, and shot him 
3ead. Puring the affray, Reuben James, a quarter-gunner, performed a most self-sacriflcing act. One of the Tripolitan 
crew, seeing the perilous condition of his commander, aimed a sabre-blow at Decatur's head. James, with both arms 
disabled from wounds and bleeding prohisely, rushed between the Tripolitan and his commander, and received the 
sabre-stroke upon his own Vice-Admiral) Charles Stew- 
head. The blow was uot fa- iffitr~ -^ art — bom which the annexed 

tal. Decatur took the dirk i|iiiita;/Mai «flB ^ — ' niiriMl^ ^^ dravringwasmade. Oneofthe 

from his foe, and afterward ^^ ^'^^WtM/^^^^g^^^^^^^^^ weapons — a powerftal though 

presented it to Captain ^„,„„, ,.,.,, ««»,,»„,, not large sort of a sword or 

(now [1867] the venerable thipolitan foniakd. j^^^ ^^.^.^^ .^ ^ shark -skin 

scabbard— which was taken from the enemy by Decatur at that time, is delineated in the engraving on page 121. It 
is in the possession of F. J. Dreer, Esq., of Philadelphia.— See Waldo's Life 0/ Decatur, page 132. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



123 



Destruction of the Intrepid. 



Honors to Commodore Preble. 



Biographical Sketch. 



when all was again silence and darkness three-fold greater than before. Anxious eyes 
and ears bent in the direction of the dreadful explosion. The boats were waited for 
until the dawn with almost insupportable impatience. They never came, and no 
man of that perilous expedition was heard of afterward. Whether the ex2)losion was 
an accident or a sacrifice — whether a shot from the enemy, or a brand dropped from 
a patriotic hand to prevent the ketch and its freight of men and powder from falling 
into the hands of the Tripolitans — can never be known. For more than sixty years 
the matter has been shrouded in impenetrable mystery.^ 

Lack of powder and the approach of the stormy season of the year induced Com- 
modore Preble to cease oj^erations on the dangerous Barbary coast, other than the 
maintenance of the blockade of Tripoli. Not another shot was fired ; and on the 
10th of September^ Preble was relieved by the arrival of Commodore Samuel 
Barron. He returned home late in February, 1805, bearing expressions of the 
highest regards from his officers, and received the homage of the nation's gratitude.^ 
Congress voted thanks to the commodore, and all who had served under his orders. 
On Preble they bestowed a gold medal bearing appropriate devices and inscrip^- 




MEDAL GIVEN TO OOMMODOBE PREBLE, 



1 Waldo, in his Li/e of Decatur, page 146, says that an eye-witness informed him that the evening was unusually calm ; 
that as the Intrepid moved silently into the inner harbor, two of the enemy's heaviest galleys, with more than a hundred 
men in each, captured the " infernal," wholly unconscious of her character. The impression was that Somers, knowing 
their fate to be miserable captivity if taken prisoners into the city, where Bainbridge and his men had then suffered for 
eleven months, considered death preferable, and with his own hand fired the magazine of the Intrepid. Under this im- 
pression a newspaper writer, after alluding to the capture, wrote with more feeling than poetry— 

" In haste they board : see Somers stand. 
Determined, cool, formed to command, 
The match of death in his right hand, 

Scorning a life of slavery. 
And now behold ! the match applied, 
The mangled foe the welkin ride : 
Whirling aloft, brave Somers cried, 
' A glorious death or liberty 1' " 

2 Edward Preble was born in Portland, Maine, on the 15th of August, 1761. He early evinced a passion for the sen, 
and engaged in the merchant service. He became a midshipman in the naval service in 177t> in the state ship Protector. 
He afterward became lieutenant of the sloop-of-war Winthrop, and remained in her during the remainder of the war for 
independence. He was the first lieutenant appointed in the new naval establishment in 1708, and soon afterward made 
two cruises in the brig Pickeriiuj as commander. lu 1800 he was made captain and placed in command of the Essex, in 
which he sailed to the East Indies to convoy American vessels. On account of ill health he withdrew from active serv- 
ice until 1803, when he went to the Mediterranean Sea. After his successful operations there he again withdrew from 
the service. In 1806 he suffered severely from debility of the digestive organs, from which he never recovered. He 
died on the 25th of August, 1807, at the age of forty-six years. To his memory a friend wrote in 1807— 

" Lamented chief! though death be calmly past, 
Our navy trembled when he breathed his last ! 
Our navy mourns him, but it mourns in vain: 
A Preble ne'er will live— ne'er die again 1 
Yet hope, desponding, at the thought revives— 
A second Peeble— a Decatur lives !" 
The likeness of Preble given on page 120 is from a portrait of him in Faneuil Hall, Boston. 



124 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Commodore Barron's Squadron in the Mediterranean. The Naval Monument at Annapolis. Devices and Inscriptions. 

tions.i Officers of the navy afterward caused a white marble monument to be erected 
at the government dock-yard near the National Capitol in memory of their brother 
officers who fell at Tripoli.^' 

Commodore Barron found himself in command of a much greater naval force than 
the Americans had ever put afloat in the Mediterranean Sea. It consisted of the 
President, 44, Captain Cox ; Constitution, 44, Caj^tain Decatur; Congress, 38, Captain 
Rodgors; Constellation, 38, Captain Campbell; JSssex, 32, Cajjtain J. Barron; iiiren, 
16, Captain Stewart ; Argus, 16, Captain Hull ; Vixen, 12, Captain Smith ; Enterprise, 
12, Lieutenant Commandant Robinson, and Nautilus, 12, Lieutenant Commandant 
Dent. Tlie John Adarns, 28, Captain Chauncey, and the Hornet, 12, Lieutenant Com- 
mandant Evans, with two bombs and twelve gun-boats, were expected to join the 
Mediterranean squadron. It will be perceived that in this squadron, in actual com- 
mand, were many of those who attained to great distinction during the War of 1812. 



' The engraving on the preceding page shows the exact size of the medal, 
dore, with the legend, "Ed\vap.i>o Feeble, rirci stp.enuo oomitia Americana." 
barding the town and forts of Tripoli; legend, "vindioi co-m-meeoii amekioani 




IsAVlL 110NLML\T 



On one side is a bust of the commo- 
On the reverse, the American fleet hom- 
. Exergue — ante Tripoli, 1804." 

2 The picture represents the monu- 
ment as it appeared when first erected. 
It is of white marble, and with its pres- 
ent pedestal (not seen in the engrav- 
ing) is about forty feet in height. It 
was mutilated when the navy yard at 
Washington was bunied in 1S14. It 
was afterward repaired, and removed 
to the west front of the Capitol iu 
Washington, where it was placed upon 
a spacious brown-stone base in an oval 
reservoir of water. The monument, 
with this base, was removed to Annap- 
olis, in Maryland, iu 1S60, and set up 
there in the grounds of the Naval 
Academy. In consequence of the Great 
Eebellion, in ISCl, that academy was 
removed to Newport, Ehode Island. 
The monument was left. "It is situ- 
ated," wi-ote Mr. William Yorke AtLee 
to the author in January, 1S62, "ou a 
hill in the northwestern portion of the 
naval school grounds. It is in a state 
of good preservation, and adds not a 
little to the beauty of the grounds." 

The shaft is surmounted by the 
■Vmerican eagle, bearing the shield. 
On its sides the representations of the 
bows of vessels are seen projecting, 
ind by its pedestal is au allegorical 
figure of Fanw in the attitude of alight- 
ing, with a coronal of leaves in one 
hand and a pen in the other. The 
form of the pedestal has heen altered. 
On one side of the base, in relief, is a 
view of Tripoli and the American 
squadron ; on the other the names of 
the heroes in whose memory the 
monument was erected. On three 
sides of the base are statues rep- 
resenting Mercnry (Commerce), His- 
torij, and A^neriea, the latter in the 
form of an Indian girl with a feather 
head-dress, half nude, and two chil- 
dren near. On the brown sandstone 
sub-base on which this monument now 
stands are the following inscriptions, 
upon three sides ; 



^T\l^]^' r " '^*'"' '"'^ty-eishth year of the independence of the United States " ^ P"'' '" ""= ^"^^ "' ™' 

cl,itVdm1r::a^Cof,i,^t^arn™\hr;^l^^"°™^' ''"'" '"'''■ ^^'-^ '^^"^^ "^-^ --'• The CMMren of 
oi^c::f^^™Jec[:d';;:L mo::^.::^ ''^'^ "^"°'-^' ™^ "^"'^='"°" °^ '>^^'^ ™^-. - -«t^y of imitation, their brother 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 125 




Ailiance with Hamet Caramalli. March across Northern Africa. Peace with Tripoli. The Barbary Powers humbled. 

Barron's flag-ship was the President. Leaving some of his force to overawe the 
menacing Moors, he kept up the blockade of Tripoli during the autumn and winter of 
1804-5. Meanwhile a land movement y y<~\ 

against Tripoli was conceived and exe- y^^y'^!/^' — > y^ 

cuted under the management of Cap- y'^^CC^'^^^^^^^^^t^ O^^^^^ 
tain William Eaton, of the United States 
army, then consul at Tunis. 

We have already observed that 
Hamet Caramalli, the right possessor 
of the beyship of Tripoli, had fled to Egypt. He had taken refuge with the Mame- 
lukes. It was determined to make common cause with- him against his usurping 
brother. Accordingly Captain Eaton, with three American officers, set out for 
Egypt* to confer with him. Hamet joyfully accepted their alliance, » November 2C, 
and the Viceroy of Egypt gave him permission to leave the country. i^"*- 

He left the Mamelukes with about forty followers, and joined Eaton westward of 
Alexandria, who was at the head of a small number of troops, composed of men of all 
nations. Early in March* the allies, with transportation consisting of one , b March 6, 
hundred and ninety camels, started for Tripoli. They traversed portions of i^"^- 
the great Desert of Barca, and the wild regions along the African coast of the Medi- 
terranean for a thousand miles. Late in April," in conjunction with two ■= April 2t. 
American vessels, they captured the Tripolitan sea-port town of Derne. d May is ana 
After two successful engagements'' with, Tripolitan troops they approach- '^°°® ^^■ 
ed the capital, confident of success, for their followers had become very numerous, 
when, to the mortification of Captain Eaton and the extinguishment of all the hopes 
of Hamet, they were apprised that Tobias Lear, consul-general on that coast, had ap- 
peared before Tripoli in the JEssex, and made a treaty^ with the terrified ejnne4 
Bashaw.^ 

Thus ended the four years' war with Tripoli. The ruler of Tunis was yet insolent, 
and Commodore Rodgers, who had become commander of the squadron in conse- 
quence of the failing health of Barron, anchored thirteen vessels befpre his capital on 
the 1st of August. The haughty Bey was speedily humbled, and sent an embassador 
to the United States. 

The power of the American government was now acknowledged and feared by all 
the barbarians of the northern shores of Africa, and the commerce of thie Mediterra- 
nean Sea was relieved of great peril. Pope Pius the Seventh declared that the Amer- 
icans had done more for Christendom against the North African pirates than all the 
powers of Europe united. The cruising and belligerent operations of the American 
navy in the Mediterranean had not only accomplished this great good for the world, 
but had been an admirable school for the military mai-ine of the United States. The 
value of the lessons taught in .that school was manifested a thousand times during 
the war with Great Britain that ensued a few years later. 

While these events in the Mediterranean, connected in the practical service on the 
part of the Americans with the War of 1812, were transpiring, political changes had 
commenced in Europe which speedily aroused the United States to a sense of the ne- 
cessity of strengthening the naval arm of the government. 

We have observed that the beginning of 1802 saw a general pacification of Europe, 
and that England paid obsequious court to Bonaparte, whose fascinations allured 
thousands of Englishmen to France. This ''First Kiss in Ten Years," celebrated by 

1 This treaty was not creditable. Although it was stipulated that the United States should pay no more tribute to 
Tripoli it was agreed that $60,000 should be paid for captives then in possession of the «ashaw. Altogether better and 
less humiliating terms for the United States might have been obtained. All that Hamet gained was the release of his 
wife and children He lost every thing else. He afterward came to the United States, and applied to Congress for re- 
muneration for his services in favor of the Americans. His petition was denied, but $2400 were voted for his temporary 
relief. 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



126 

Bonaparte declared Consul for Life. His Inaolence toward the English. War declared against France. 

the caricaturists, was the last for more than that space of time. First jealousy then 
suspicion, and, finally, intense hatred of France and her ruler took possession of the 
English mind. These feelings were intensified by the act of the French Senate, who 
. August 3 declared Bonaparte consul for life,^ a declaration speedily sanctioned by the 

ifo2. ' Yotga of tjiree millions of Frenchmen. This was jealously regarded as a 
cautious step toward more absolute power, which England feared; and when, im- 
, A„ 3t 15 mediately afterward, first the Island of Elba," then Piedmont," then the 
= Se^ptemier 11. Duchy of Parma,* were incorporated into the dominions of France, no 
' October. one doubted that the First Consul would speedily set armies in motion 

for the greater aggrandizement of himself and' the country of his adoption. 

England professed to see in this accession of territory infringements of the Treaty 
of Amiens. Bonaparte retorted by accusing Great Britain of violating the spirit of 
treaties and endeavoring to disturb the peace of Europe, for which he was laboring, 
and assumed toward England a haughty and dictatorial tone that wounded her sens- 
itive pride. He evinced a disposition to possess Malta ; required England to drive 
royal French emigrants from her shores, where they had taken refuge ; demanded- a 
suppression of the liberties of the English press in its criticisms on French afiairs, be- 
cause it was regarded as his most dangerous enemy ; and actually asked for a modifi- 
cation of the English Constitution. ^ He was charged with inciting another rebellion 
in Ireland, and distributing his secret emissaries, under the guise of consuls, all along 
the British coasts.^ 

The cup of Bonaparte's iniquity was finally made full to English comprehension 
when, at the beginning of March, 1803, he declared, in an official note to Lord Whit- 
worth, the British embassador in Paris, that England, alone, can not now encounter 
France." That announcement, assuming the shape of a Wnace, raised a storm of 
patriotic indignation all over England, which found a loud echo in the House of Lords 
on the 9th of March. That indignation, not unmixed with alarm, became more in- 
tense when intelligence reached London that a Senatus Consultum on the 21st of 
March had placed one hundred and twenty thousand conscripts at the command of 
the French ruler. Still professing a desire for peace, the Addington ministry contin- 
ued negotiations with Bonaparte. Finally, in May, the British minister at Paris, who 
had been personally insulted by the First Consul, and who had repeatedly warned his 
government that the negotiations on the part of the French ruler were deceptive, and 
contrived only to give time for hostile preparation, was ordered to leave the French 
capital. The British government immediately ordered the French minister to leave 
London, and on the 18th of May formally declared war against France, and put in 
immediate operation an embargo upon all French vessels in English ports. In retal- 
iation, crowds of English visitors in the French dominion were seized and held as 
prisoners of war.^ Immense bodies of troops were sent to the French coast, and men- 
aced England with immediate invasion. Bonaparte Superintended the preparations 
in person, established his head-quarters at Boulogne, on the roads to which finger- 
posts marked "Jb ZiSndon" were erected, and every possible means were used to in- 

1 The English Constitution is not a permanent instrument embodying the foundations of all laws, like that of the 
United States, but comprehends the whole body of English laws enacted by Parliament, and by which the British peo- 
ple are governed. The Constitution of the United States is superior to the Congress or National Legislature ; the Par- 
liament or National Legislature of England is superior to the Constitution. What Parliament declares to be the Consti- 
tution of England is the Constitution of England : what the Parliament enacts the monarch must be goveme^d by, and 
the courts can not adjudge to be unconstitutional and void. Sheridan comprehensively said, "The King of England is 
not seated on a solitary eminence of power ; on the contrary, he sees his equals in the coexisting branches of the Legis- 
lature, and he recognizes his swperior in the law." 

2 The latter charge was proven by the seizure of the papers of the French consul at Dublin, in whose secret instruc- 
tions were the following passages : " You are required to furnish a plan of the ports of your district, with a specification 
of the soundings for mooring vessels. If no plan of the ports can be procured, yon are to point out with what wind ves- 
sels can come in and go out, and what is the greatest draught of water with which vessels can enter the river deeply 
laden." 

= About twelve thousand English subjects of all ages were committed to custody. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 127 



The English People excited against France. Invasion of Great Britain by the French expected. Witticisms. 

flame the resentments of Frenchmen against their English neighbors across the 
Channel. 

In England every art was also employed to excite the people against France and 
its ruler. Immense numbers of " loyal papers" and " loyal tracts" were scattered 
over the land, some being atrocious libels on Bonaparte and his family, fictitious ac- 
counts of his barbarities, and exaggerated pictures of his treatment of those countries 
which had bowed to his power ; others were calm and dignified appeals to the pa- 
triotism and courage of the nation. It was evident to all that an invasion was prob- 
able, and yet wits, and satirists, and vulgar libelers hurled perpetual volleys of abuse 
and ridicule against Bonaparte and France, afiecting, with ill-disguised trepidation, 
to look upon both with contempt.^ This apparent gayety and unconcern was like the 
whistling of boys in the dark to keep their courage up. The government at the same 
moment was making immense preparations to repel the expected invasion, and the 
year 1803 was one of alarm and terror for all England.^ She was the asylum of the 
Bourbon Royalists, who were the traditional enemies of all popular liberty and prog- 
ress, the most implacable foes of the French ruler, and the sleepless and relentless 
conspirators against the lives of all who should stand in the way of their recovery of 
the throne from which the best of their linea,ge, Louis the Sixteenth, had been driven 
a few years before. These Royalists were petted by the English government and pit- 

1 Bonaparte was sometimes compared to a wild beast, at other times to a pigmy, and at all times as a blusterer to be 
laughed at. One morning London would be amused by a large placard announcing an exhibition thus : "Just arrived 
at Mr. Bull's Menagerie, In British Lane, the most renowned and sagacious Man^tiger or Orang-outang, called Napoleon 
Bonaparte. He has been exhibited in Holland, Switzerland, and Italy, and lately in Egypt," etc. Another morning 
chapmen would offer in the great thoroughfares songs with words like these : 

" Come, I'll sing you a song. Just for want of some other, 
About a STnall thing that has made a great pother : 
A mere iTisect — a pigmy. I'll tell you, my hearty, 
'Tie the Corsican hop-o'^my-tkwmh, Buonaparti." 
Or boastful ballads in words like these : 

" Arm, neighbors, at length. 
And put forth yonr strength 
Perfidious, bold France to resist ! 
Ten Frenchmen will fly, 
To shun a black eye. 
If one Englishman doubles his fist 1" 
The theatres were resonant with patriotic songs. One of the most popular of those song in -the play-houses, called 
" The Island," began with this stanza: 

"If the French have a notion 
of crossing the ocean. 

Their luck to be trying on land. 
They may come if they like ; 
But we'll soon make 'em strike 
To the lads of the tight little Island ! 
Huzza for the boys of the Island '. 
The brave volnnteers of the Island ! 
The fraternal embrace, 
If foes want in this place, 
We'll present all the arms in the Island !" 
Gillray and other caricaturists were exceedingly active at this time in ridiculing all parties, hut especially Bonaparte. 
Some of these caricatures, which were grossly personal, annoyed the Corsican exceedingly, for he was extremely sensi- 
tive to any thing like ridicule against himself and family. The one which gave him most offense was a broad parody 
on BeJshaznar's Feast, by GUlray, which appeared in August, 1803, entitled " The BanOwriting on the Wall" The First 
Consul and Josephine, his wife (the latter represented of enormous hulk), and other members of his family and court, 
are seated at table devonring the good things of England as a dessert. When Bonaparte first discovers the mysterious 
hand, his fork is stuck into St. James's, seen on his plate. Another is swallowing the Tower of London, while Jose- 
phine is drinking large bumpers of wine. On a plate bearing the inscription " Oh de roast beef of Old England 1" is seen 
a head of King George. Above the feasters a hand holds the scales of Justice, in which the legitimate crown of France 
weighs down the red cap and its attendant chain— Despotism under the name of Liberty. Behind Josephine stand the 
three afterward princesses of the imperial family— Borghese, Louise, and Joseph Bonaparte. A copy of this caricature is 
given in full in Wright's History of the Home of Hammer, Ulusirated by Carieatures and Satires. It is said to have greatly 
exasperated the First Consul and his friends. 

2 On the 23d of July the germ of another rebellion in Ireland appeared at Dublin. The chief leader was Robert Em- 
met, an eminent barrister, who was implicated, with his brother, in the rebellion there in 1798. His followers proved 
themselves so unworthy of himself and the cause (which was the independence of Ireland) that he fled in despair to the 
Wickldw Mountains. He might have evaded pursuit, but his love for his betrothed, the daughter of the famous Curran, 
caused him to linger. He was arrested, tried for and found guilty of treason, and hanged on the 20th of September fol- 
lowing. 



128 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Effects of the British Declaration of War. Fight for the Championship. Bonaparte proclaimed JSmperor. His Plans. 

ied by tlie English people ; and this offense, above all others, exasperated Bonaparte, 
xir he regarded England as the accomplice of the conspirators against himself and 
luman freedom. ■ 

The British declaration of war, said Meneval (who was always at the elbow of the 
First Consul), changed his whole nature.' He had been planning vast beneficent 
schemes for France under the serene skies of universal peace, WljiCn England, of all the 
lations loudest in her professions of concord and sentiments of Christian benevo- 
ence, was the first to disappoint him — the first to again disturb the peace of Europe 
jy brandishing high in air the flaming sword of war, instead of the green olive- 
Dranch of amity and good will. Compeilftd to accept the challenge, he resolved to 
nve her war to her heart's content. 

Each party charged the other with act'S of flagrant wrong against the peace and 
veil-being of the world, and the record of impartial history implies that hoth spoke 
h.e truth. It is not our business to act as' umpire on the question, or to delineate the 
svents of the great war that ensued. We will simply consider the resulting effects 
>f these international strifes on the peace and prosperity of the United States. The 
var was waged by both parties with an utter disregard of the rights of all other 
lations or the settled maxims of international comity. France and England entered 
he lists for the champion's belt — for the supremacy in the political affairs of the 
rorld— and they fought with the science, the desperation, and the brutality of ac- 
omplished pugilists. 

On the 18th of May, 1804, Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French, in 
Mays. »<Jcordance with a decree of the Senate^ and the votes of the people. To 
give more eminent sanction to the deed, the Pope was invited to perform the 
oronation ceremony. He consented, and on the 2d of December following Bona- 
larte was anointed by his holiness, at the great altar of Notre Dame, " The High and 
lighty Napoleon the First." The republics which he had established by his sword 
^ere speedily changed, into kingdoms, on the thrones of which members of his own 
May 26, family were i)laced. In May, the following year,"- he was solemnly anointed 
1805. Kijig of Italy at Milan. Then he cast his eyes significantly over Europe, and 
ontemplated a thorough reconstruction of its map. England, Eussia, Austria,' and 
weden, alarmed and provoked, coalesced against the "usurper," as Napoleon' was 
ailed. Prussia was kept from the league only by i bribe. Napoleon having offered ' 
[anover, which he had stolen from England, as the 'price of the king's friendship. ' 
^ery soon a French army one hundred and eighty thousand strong was upon the 
:hme. On the 2d of December the strength of the Corsican was tested. Against 
im, near Austerlitz, appeared two great armies, each led, like his own, by an em- 
eror. They met in deadly conflict. Napoleon was the victor. The Continental 
owers withdrew from the contest. Prussia received Hanover as her reward and 
ngland was left to fight the Emperor of the French single-handed. Napoleon pro- 
;eded to distribute crowns and ducal coronets among his friends and favorite gen- 
■als with a lavish hand, and mduced no less than fourteen German princes who 
lied over sixteen millions of people, to form a league, under the supremacy of 
ranee, known as the Confederacy of the Rhine. 

Early in 1806 the English government, under the premiership of Charles Fox, 
>ened with Napoleon negotiations for peace, the res«o.ration of "Hanover being one 
.the proposed conditions. Napoleon considered it, and on that account the Kins 
Prussia, alarmed and offended, joined the coalition of the Northern Powers against 
m. The exasperated emperor marched upon Prussia, and, after slaying more than 
)ctober 25, twenty thousand of the king's subjects in arms, he entered Berlin = his 
capital, in triumph. Meanwhile the Russians had been beaten 'back 

,Sl!m^ "^ ^""""^ ^"^ """"^ *^ ^"^ ^'^ °^ ^'^'^ "^ ^'■'^ ^**"- ^y Charles J. lugereoll. Second 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 129 



The Berlin Decree. 



through Poland, and he was in possession of "Warsaw. Strong, bold, and defiant, and 
burning with a desire to humble " perfidious Albion," he issued from his camp at 
the Prussian capital" the famous manifesto known in history as the .November 21 
Berlin Decree,' which declared the ports of the whole of the British do- i^''^- 

minions in a state of blockade, while a French vessel of war scarcely dare appear on 
the ocean to enforce it. This brings us to the immediate consideration of events in 
the United States, and the effects of the strife abroad upon American affairs. 

' The following is a copy of the decree : 

-^Mmperial Camp, Berlin, November 21, 1806. 

"Napoleon, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, considering: 

" 1. That England does not admit the right of nations as universally acknowledged by all civilized people ; 

" 2. That she declares as an enemy every individual belonging to an enemy state, and, in consequence, makes pris- 
oners of war not only of the crews of a/rmM, vessels, but those also of merchaml vessels, and even the supercargoes of the 
same; 

"S. That she extends or applies to merchant vessels, to articles of ooiimerce, and to the property of individuals the 
right of conquest, which can only be applied or extended to what belongs t"o an enemy state ; 

" 4. That she extends to ports not fortified, to harbors and months of rivers, the rifjltt of bbckade, which, according to 
reason and the usages of civilized nations, is applicable only to strong or fortified ports ; 

" 5. That she declares places blockaded before which she has not a single vessel of war, although a place ought not to 
be considered blockaded but when it is so invested that no approach to it can be made without imminent hazard ; that 
she declares even places blockaded which her united forces would be incapable of doing, such as entire coasts and a 
whole empire. 

"6. That this unequaled abuse of the right of blockade has no other object than to interrupt the communication of 
dififerent nations, and to extend the commerce and industry of England upon the ruin of those of the Continent ; ' 

"7. That this being the evident design of England, whoever deals on the Continent in English merchandise favors 
that design, and becomes an accomplice ; 

" 8. That this conduct in England (worthy only of the first stages of barbarism) has benefited her to the detriment 
of other nations ; 

" 9. That it being right to oppose to an enemy the same arms she makes use of, to combat as she does when all ideas 
of justice and every liberal sentiment (the result of civilization amongmen) are disregarded, 

" We have resolved to enforce against England the usages which she has consecrated in her maritime code. 

"The present decree shall be considered as the fundamental law o'f the Empire until England shall acknowledge that 
the rights of war are the same on land as at sea ; that they can not be extended to any private property whatever, nor to 
persons who are not military, and until the right of blockading be restrained to fortified places actually invested by 
competent forces. 

" Art. 1. The British Islands are in a state of blockade. ■.. 

"Art. 2. All commerce and correspondence with them is prohibited ;; consequently, all letters or packets written in 
England, or to an Englishman written in the JSnglish lamguage, shall not be dispatched from the post-offlces, and shall he 
seized. 

" Art. 3. Every individual a subject of Great Britain, of whatever rank or condition, who is found in countries occu- 
pied by our troops or those of our allies, shall he made prisoner of war. 

" Art. 4. Every warehouse, all merchandise or property whatever belonging to an Englishman, are declared good prize. 

" Art. 5. One half of the proceeds of merchandise declared to he good prize and forfeited, as in the preceding articles, 
shall go to indemnify merchants who have suffered losses by the English cruisers. 

"Art. 6. No vessel coming directly from England or her colonies, or having been there since the publication of this 
decree, shall be admitted into any port. 

" Art. 7. Every vessel that by a false declaration contravenes the foregoing- disposition shall be seized, and the ship 
and cargo confiscated as English property. 

"Art. 8. [This article states that the Councils of Prizes at Paris and at Milan shall have recognizance of what may 
arise in the Empire and in Italy under the present decree.] 

" Art. 9. Communications of this decree shall be made to the Kings of Spain, Naples, Holland, Etruria, and to our oth- 
er allies, whose subjects as well as ours are victims of the injuries and barbarity of the English maritime code. 

" Art. 10. Our ministers of foreign relations, etc., are charged with the execution of the present decree. 

"Napoleow." 

With a partiality toward the Americans that was practical friendship, the French cruisers did not, for a whole year, in- 
terfere with American vessels trading with Great Britain. On this point Alexander Baring, M.P., in his Inquiry into 
•the Causes and Conaeqv^nces of the Orders in C(mneil, and an JExamination of the Conduct of Great Britain toward the Neur 
tral ComTnerce of ATnerica, said: ^^No coTidefmnution of an American vessel had ever takenplace und£r it; and so little did 
the French privateers interfere vrith the trade of America with this country, that the insurance on it was very little higher 
than in time of profound peace ; while that of the American trade with the Continent of Europe has at the same time 
been doubled, and even trebled, by the conduct of our cruisers." 

I 



?0 



PIGTOEIAL IflELD-BOOK 



osperity of American Commerce. Germa of new States appearing in the Orgapization of Territories. 




CHAPTER VII. 

" Sliall tliat arm which haughty Britain 

In its gristle found too strong— 
That by which her foes were smitten— 

Shall that arm be palsied long? 
See our sons of ocean kneeling 

To a tyrant's stripes and chains ! 
Partisan I h&st thou no feeling 

When the hardy tar complains ? 
See the British press-gang seize hlni, 

Victim of relentless power ! 
Stout his heart is, but must fail him 

In this evil, trying hour." 

The iMrKEEGEi) Seaman's Appeai. 

JNCOURAGED by promises of continued peace in Europe, and the 
relaxation of the " rule of 1756" by Great Britain,i the commerce 
and general business of the United States enjoyed a season of un- 
exampled prosperity. The social and political power of the re- 
public rapidly augmented. The Indians on the frontiers were 
peaceful ; and the causes for irritation on the part of the inhabit- 
ants west of the mountains toward the Spaniards, who controlled 
the Lower Mississippi, were in a fair way of being speedily re- 
loved. The germs of new states were appearing in the late wilderness, That vast 
omain northwest of the Ohio, west of a line drawn from the mouth of the Kentucky 
liver to Fort Recovery on St. Clair's battle-field, and thence due north to Canada, was 
j{jj ^ erected into a Territory,^ and named Indiana. William Henry Hari-ison, 
isoa. ' Wayne's eflBcient aid in 1794 (who had been out of the army since 1798), was 
ppointed governor of the germinal state, and established his capital at Vincennes, 
n the Lower Wabash. 

At about the same time the Mississippi Territory, organized in 1798 by Winthrop 
Sargent, St. Clair's efficient secretary in the govei-nment of the Ohio country, 
^^^ ^°' was allowed a representative assembly,'' and its political machinery was put 
a motion. 

In the spring of 1802 the United States came into possession, by act of Georgia, of 
me hundred thousand square miles of territory, now constituting the State of Ala- 
>ama. It was inhabited by the Creek and Cherokee Indians toward the east, and 
he Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes toward the west. With those philanthropic im- 
)ulses which marked the character of Jefferson, he recommended measures for the 
veil-being of those tribes, and for securing to them equal and exact justice. 
Late in the same year the inhabitants within the present domain of Ohio, in repre- 
sentative convention held at Chilicothe, adopted a State Constitution," 
and the Territory, called Ohio, became a peer among the states of the 
•epublic. 

But these political organizations on soil within the domains of the United States, 
ind over which a civilized population was rapidly spreading, were of small account 
when compared with the importance of a great acquisition of territory and political 
power which speedily followed. Louisiana, which once comprehended the vast and 
[indefinable region of the Valley of the Mississippi and the domain watered by its 

1 See note 1, page 84. 



OF THE WAK OF 1812. 131 



Louisiana retroceded to France. The Americans disturbed by the Act. President Jefferson's View of the Subject. 

tril)utaries, from the Gulf of Mexico to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, and west- 
ward to the Pacific Ocean, or " South Sea," as it was then called, was a possession of 
France by right of discovery by secular and religious explorers, and was named in 
honor of the Gallic king Louis. 

■In 1'763 France ceded to England the whole of that region east of the Mississippi 
except Florida, and to Spain all west of that river. By these cessions and the sur- 
render of others, effected by compulsion at the end of a seven years' war, France ab- 
dicated territorial dominion in North America. 

While the negotiations of the Treaty of Amiens were in progress, a rumor went 
abroad that Spain, by secret treaty, had retroceded, or would retrocede, to France all 
of Louisiana in her possession, and possibly the domain along the Gulf of Mexico 
known as East and West Florida, thus giving to that now rising, ambitious, and ag- 
gressive power the entire control of the navigation of the Mississippi, and a position 
to exercise an influence over the political affairs of the United States more potent 
and permanent than had ever been attempted. This gave the government and people 
much uneasiness, and the American ministers in London, Paris, and Madrid were im- 
mediately instructed to endeavor to defeat the measure. It was too late. The act 
of cession was accomplished, and the fact was made known to the President early in 
•1802. 

President Jefferson, who loved his country and republican institutions intensely, 
and who desired its prosperity and grandeur with a patriot's warm devotion, wrote 
an earnest letter to Mr. Livingston,* the American embassador at Paris, on a April is, 
the subject. With wonderful sagacity he clearly comprehended the mat- ^^*'^- 
ter in all its bearings, immediate and prospective, and perceived the great evils to the 
republic which French occupation of the outlet of the Mississippi would inflict. " It 
would completely reverse," he said, " all the political relations of the United States, 
and would form a new epoch in our political career. Of all nations of any consider- 
ation, France is the one which hitherto has offered the fewest points on which we 
could have any conflict of right, and the most points of common interest. From these 
causes we have ever looked to her as our natural friend, as one with whom we never 
could have occasion of difference. Her growth, therefore, we viewed as our own, her 
misfortunes ours. There is on the globe one single spot the possessor of which is our 
natural and habitual enemy. It is New Orleans, through which the produce of three 
eighths of our territory must'^ass to market ; and, from its fertility, it will ere long 
yield more than half of our whole produce, and contain more than half of our inhabit- 
ants. France, placing herself in that door, assumes to us the attitude of deflance. 
Spain might have retained it quietly for years. Her pacific dispositions, her feeble 
state would induce her to increase our facilities there, so that her possession of the 
place would be hardly felt by us, and it would not perhaps be very long before some 
circumstance might arise which might make the cession of it to us the price of some- 
thing of more worth to her. 

" Not so can it ever be in the hands of France ; the impetuosity of her temper, the 
energy and restlessness of her character, placed in a point of eternal friction with us 
and our character, which, though quiet, and loving peace and the pursuit of wealth, is 
high-minded, despising wealth in competition with insult or injury. Enterprising 
and enei-getic as any nation on earth, these circumstances render it impossible that 
France and the United States can lo5g continue friends when they meet in so irrita- 
ble a position The day that France takes possession of New Orleans fixes the 

sentence which is to restrain her forever within her low-water mark. It seals the 
union of two nations who, in conjunction, can maintain exclusive possession of the 
ocean. From that moment we must marry ourselves to the British fleet and nation. 
We must turn all our attentions to a maritime force, for which our resources place us 
on very high ground ; and, having formed and connected together a power which 



32 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



•oposition for the Cession of Louisiana. The secret Designs of Trance. Talleyrand. Atrocious Suggestions. 

lay render re-enforcement of her settlements here impossible to France, make the 
rst cannon which shall be fired in Europe the signal for tearing up every settlement 
le may have made."' 

Mr. Jefferson suggested that if France considered the possession of Louisiana " in- 
ispensable for her views," she might be willing to cede to the United States, for a 
)nsideration, the Island of Kew Orleans, and the Floridas, and guarantee the free 
avigation of the Mississippi by both nations, thus removing, in a degree, " the causes 
f jarring and irritation" between the parties.^ 

Although the President's letter to Mr. Livingston was private, Mr. Jefferson chose 
) consider it as supplemental to the official instructions which were sent to the em- 
issador, and he desired him to urge, on proper occasions, with the proper persons, 
id in a proper manner, the considerations and suggestions which the letter con- 
lined. As we have already observed, it was too late to prevent the cession. That 
;t had been accomplished by secret treaty eighteen months before.^ 

Nothing now remained for the Americans to do to prevent the threatened evils of 

rench occupation at the mouth of the Mississippi but to negotiate for the purchase 

' territory there. Such negotiations were speedily entered into. Mr. Livingston 

took important preliminary steps in that direction, and in January, 1803," 

James Monroe was appointed to assist him in the negotiation. Their in- 

Letter to Eobert E. Livingston, April 18, 1802. 
' France had no really peaceful and friendly feelings toward the United States at that time. Among the dreams of 
)ry which filled the mind of Bonaparte was the re-estahlishment of the ancient colonial Empire of France. His first 
lay was in -St. Bomingo ; his next was to be in Louisiana. What would have been his instrumentalities there in ex- 
iding his sway over the country west of the Alleghanies, may be inferred from the following extract of a memorial 
lose inspiration was supposed to be the First Consul, and Talleyrand the writer. This document was published in 
mphlet formin Philadelphia in 1803, hut was suppressed because of negotiations then pending for the purchase of 
uisiana from France. It vindicates the wisdom and sagaeity of Jefferson exhibited in the above letter to Mr. Living- 
m. On the forty-fifth page of the pamphlet it is observed: 

' There is still another mean, however, by which the fury of the states may be held at pleasure — ^by an enemy placed 
their Western frontiers. The only aliens and enemies within their borders are not the blacks. They, indeed, are the 
1st inveterate in their enmity ; but the iNDiAifS are, iji many respects, more dangerous inmates. Their savage igno- 
Me, their uvdiscipUned passioris, their restless and warlike habits, their notions of ancient rights, make them the fittest 
Is imagiTiable far disturbing the states. In the territory adjacent to the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri there are 
ire than thirty thousand men whose trade is hunting, and whose delight is war. These men lie at the mercy of any 
ilized nation who live near them. Such a neighbor can gain their friendship or provoke their enmity with equal ease. 

can make them inactive, or he can rouse them to fury; he can direct their movement in any way he pleases, and 
.ke it mischievous or harmless, Ify swpplying their fury with arms and with leaders, or by withholding that supply. 
' The pliant and addressful spirit of the French has always given them an absolute control over these savages. The 
ice which the laziness or the insolence of the British found impracticable ^s easily performed by us, and will be still 
tier hereafter, since we shall enter on the scene with more advantages than formerly. 

'We shall detach within, a suflicient force to maintain possession against all the efforts of the states, should they, 
itrary to all their interests, proceed to war with or without provocation. We shall find in the Indian tribes an army 
:manently cantoned in the most convenient stations, emUmed with skill and temper best adapted to the nature and the 
ne of the war, and armed and impelled with far less trouble and expense than an equal nnmber of our own troops. 

shall find a terrible militia, infinitely mere destructive while scattered through the hostile settlements iham an equal farce 
mr own. We shall find in the bowels of the states a mischief that only wants the toueh of a wellrdirected spark to in- 
ve in its explosion the utter ruin of half their nation. Such will be the power we shall derive bom a military station 
i a growing colony on the Mississippi. These will be certain and immediate effects, whatever distance and doubt 
ire may be in the remoter benefits to France on which I have so warmly expatiated. As a curb on a nation whose 
ure conduct in peace and war will be of great importance to us, this province will be cheaply purchased at ten times 
! cost to which it will subject us." 

:he writer made Bonaparte say : " My designs on the Mississippi will never be officially announced till they are exe- 
ed. Meanwhile the world, if it pleases, may fear and suspect, but nobody will be wise enough to go to war to pre- 
it them. I shall trust to the folly of England and America to let me go my way in my own time." 
Vhen the war between the United States and Great Britain broke out in 1812, British writers urged the government 
jmploy the savages, with all their known blood-thirstiness and cruelty, as allies. One writer soundly berated the gov- 
iment for its apparent apathy toward their " Indian friends," and cited the above atrocious suggestions of the French 
Ulster as the true programme of action for the British to pursu^in the war with the Americans 1— See the New Ouar- 
ly Rmiern and British Colmial Register, No. 4 : J. M. Richardson, Comhill, London. 

There had been for some time indications of speedy hostilities between the United States and Spain growing out 
the territorial relations of the two countries on the Gulf of Mexico. By a treaty with Spain in 1T95 that government 
i granted to the United States the right of deposit at New Orleans for three years, after which the privilege was either 
be continued, or an equivalent place assigned on another part of the banks of the Mississippi. The Spaniards consid- 
d themselves masters of the province while it was unoccupied by the French, even after the cession was consum- 
ted. The privilege of deposit at New Orieans had been continued ; but suddenly, in October, 1802 the Spanish in- 
idant or governor declared by proclamation that the right of deposit at New Orleans no longer eirfsted This oro- 
:ed great excitement in the Western country, and the Americans, when certified of the treaty of cession did not doubt 
it the Spanish intendant acted under orders from the French government. 



OF THE WAR OP 1813. 133 



Effect of Jefferson's Letter and Bonaparte's Necessity. Purchase of Louisiana. Blow at England. 

structions only asted for the cession of New Orleans and the Floridas, and that the 
Mississippi should be divided hy a line that • should put the city of New Orleans 
within the territory of the United States, thus securing the free navigation of that 
river. 

To the surprise of the American negotiators, M. Marhois, the representative of Bo- 
naparte,! offered to treat for the sale of the whols of Louisiana. " Irresolution and 
deliberation," said the First Consul in his instructions to Marbois, " are no longer in 
season. I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede, it is the 
whole colony, without any reservation. I know the price of what I abandon, and I 
have sufficiently proved the importance that I attach to this province, since my first 
diplomatic act with Spain had for its object the recovery of it. I renounce it with 
the greatest regret. To attempt to retain it would be folly. I direct you to nego- 
tiate this affair with the envoys of the United States." 

The sagacious Bonaparte — the Man of Expediency — saw clearly which was the 
path of safety for him. Jefferson's covert menace of an American alliance with En- 
gland against him, his ill success against St. Domingo,^ and the storm-clouds of war 
that were again lowering darkly over Europe, caused the gorgeous dream of colonial 
dominion to fade from the mind of the First Consul. He needed troops at home, and 
he was more in want of money than far-off possessions held by doubtful tenure.^ 

Monroe arrived at Paris on the 12th of April, 1803. 'The negotiations immediately 
commenced. The intercourse between the three commissioners was very pleasant. 
Livingston and Marbois had known each other intimately more than twenty years 
before. Every thing went on smoothly ; and in less than a fortnight a treaty was 
signed by which the United States came into the possession of a vast and, to some 
extent, undefined domain, containing a mixed free population of eighty-five thousand 
souls and forty thousand negro slaves, for the sum of 115,000,000. "We have lived 
long," said Mr. Livingston to Marbois, as he arose from his seat after signing the 
treaty, " but this is the noblest work of our whole lives. The treaty which we have 
just signed has not been obtained by art or force ; equally advantageous to the two 
contracting parties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this 
day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank ; the En- 
glish lose all exclusive influence in the affairs of America." 

Bonaparte, who had watched the progress of the negotiations with intense interest, 
held similar opinions. " It is true," he said to Marbois a few hours later, " the nego- 
tiation does not leave me any thing to desire ; sixty millions [francs] for an occupa- 
tion that will not perhaps last for a day ! I would that France should enjoy this 
unexpected capital, that it may be employed in works beneficial to her marine.^ This 
accession of territory," he continued exultingly, " strengthens forever the power of 
the United States ; and Ihave just given' to England a maritime rival that will, sooner 
or later, humble her pride." 



1 Martois was secretary to the French embassy to the United States during a portion of the American Revolution, and 
was now at the Head of the French Treasury Department. 

! ToussaintL'Duverture, an able and courageous negro, seized the Spanish part of St. Domingo, and made it a colony 
of France, in January, 1801, He was declared President for life. This example was speedily followed by the black and 
colored population of Guadaloupe. They seized the governor sent out by Bonaparte, and established a provisional gov- 
ernment in October, 1801. Meanwhile an insurrection had broken out in St. Domingo, and Bonaparte sent his brother- 
in-law, Le Olerc, to quell it. Toussaint regarded the army as an instrnment for the enslavement of himself and his 
people A new civil war ensued, while the French army was completely decimated by fever and sword. Twenty thou- 
sand soldiers perished, and sixty thousand white people of the island were massacred by the infuriated negroes. A 
momentary peace ensued. Toussaint, who deprecated these acts, was treacherously seized on the false charge of inten- 
tion to excite another insurrection, taken to France, and died in prison there. By direct act of Bonaparte slavery was 
established in Guadaloupe (where his army was more successful), and the slave-trade was opened. 

3 "I require a great deal of money," the First Consul said to Marbois, "to carry on this war, and I would not like to 
commence with new contributions. If I should regulate my terms according to the value of those vast regions to the 
United States, the indemnity would have no limits. I will be moderate, in consideration of the necessity in which I am 
placed of making a sale. But keep tliis to yourself." ,,. „ ,, , 

4 The invasion of England and the prostration of her maritime superiority was then Bonaparte's favorite project. 



134 PICTOEIAL FIELD. BOOK 

iecession proposed by New England. Condemned by Hamilton. Affairs in the Southwest. Transfer of Louisiana. 

Notwithstanding the acknowledged national advantages to be gained by the acqui- 
ition of Louisiana, the Federal politicians, especially those of New England, perceiv- 
ng that it would strengthen the South, into whose hands the government had fallen, 
aised a loud outcry against it as the_ work of the Southern Democracy. They pro- 
fessed to regard the measure as inimical to the interests of the North and East ; and 
laving, while in power, become familiar with the prescription of disunion of the 
tates, always put forth by the Southern political doctors as the great remedy for 
.pparently incurable political evils, they resolved to try its efficiency in the case in 
[uestion. All through the years 1803 and 1804 desires for and fears of a dissolution 
if the Union were freely expressed in what are now the free-labor states east of the 
Uleghanies ;' and a select Convention of Federalists, to be held at Boston in* the 
utumn of 1804, to consider the question of disunion, was contemplated early in that 
ear. Alexander Hamilton was invited to attend it, but his emphatic condemnation 
f the whole plan, only a few months before his death, seems to have disconcerted the 
saders and dissipated the scheme. " To his honor be it spoken," said Dewitt Clinton 
1 the Senate of the State of New York in 1809, "it was rejected by him with abhor- 
ence and disdain." 

The acquisition of Louisiana by the United States was distasteful to the Spaniards, 
fc brought the restless and enterprising Americans too near the Spanish provinces in 
lexico to promise quietude t(f the latter. Yrugo, the Spanish minister at Washing- 
m, therefore entered a solemn protest against the entire treaty. Questions eoncem- 
ig the true boundary of Louisiana were speedily raised, and serious complications 
^ere threatened. The Spaniards were disposed to cling to all the territory east of 
le Mississippi included in West Florida, and thus hold possession of New Orleans, 
'his disposition opened afresh the animosity of the inhabitants of the West against 
le occupants of the Lower Mississippi, and the United States contemplated the ne- 
2ssity of taking possession of New Orleans by the force of arms. Troops under 
eneralJames Wilkinson, consisting of a few regulars, several companies of Mississip- 
L volunteers, and a considerable number of Tennessee militia, marched from Nash- 
ille to Natchez. 

But a peaceful transfer of the territory took place. Lausat, the commissioner of 
ranee to receive Louisiana from the Spaniards under the cession treaty, performed 
lat duty, and a few days afterward he formally delivered the island and city of New 
rleans to General Wilkinson and William C. C. Claiborne, the commissioners appomt- ' 
I for the purpose by the United States. The Spaniards were left in possession of 
le country along the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, known as The Floridas 
mg south of the thirty-first degree of north latitude, and east of a line nearly cor- 
spondmg with the present boundary between Mississippi and Louisiana on the 
earl liiver. 

Upon the soil thus acquired, and which was an important step in the direction of 
)solute mdependence of Great Britain on the part of the United States, some of the 
ost stirring events of the War of 1812 occurred, and thereon was fought the last 
id most decisive battle of the Second War for Independence 

The acquisition of Louisiana created in the minds of adventurers visions of personal 
id national aggrandizement the influence of which it was difficult to resist. Amon<^ 
ose who formed schemes of operation in that direction was Aaron Burr, the Vice"- 
resident of the United States, who in 1804, by the failure of his political aspirations, 
e general distrust of his political and personal integrity, the exposure of his immoral 
iaracter,his hopeless financial embarrassments, and, above all, his cruel murder of 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



135 



Aaron Burr. His Murder of Hamilton. Virginians honor him for it. Specially honored by Jefferson and his Friends. 

the great and honored Hamilton in a duel, had become a desj^erate man, and a fugi- 
tive from society and from justice, moral and legal. When the correspondence be- 
tween Burr and Hamilton immediately preceding the duel was published, it was evi- 
dent that the former had committed a murder by forcing the combat upon his victim.' 
The public indignation was intense — so intense that Burr fled before its fury to Geor- 
gia by sea, " merely," as he wrote to his daughter Theodosia, a planter's wife in South 
Carolma, " to give a 
little time for pas- 
sion to subside, not 
from any aj)prehen- 
sions of the final ef- 
fects of proceedings 
in courts of law." 

Burr found him- 
self in a congenial 
atmosphere in the 
South. He was feted 
and caressed ; and 
when, finally, he 
made his way to- 
ward Washington 
City, to take his seat 
as President of the 
Senate by virtue of 
his ofiice, he was 
treated to ovations. A public 
dinner was given him at Pe- 
tersburg, in Virginia, to hon- 
or him as " the destroyer of th' 




arch-foe of democra- 
cy."'^ Attended by a 
retinue of Democrats 
he visited the thea- 
tre in the evening, 
where the audience 
rose and received 
him with cheers.^ 
At Washington City 
he was received with 
great deference. The 
" President (Jefier- 
son) seems to have 
been more complai- 
sant than usual ;"■* 
and at Burr's re- 
quest General Wil- 
kinson Avas appoint- 
' ed Governor of Lou- 

isiana, and Dr. Brown secreta- 
ry. These were the Vice-Pres- 
ident's warm friends. 

At the close of his oflicial ca- 



reer in the spiring of 1805, Burr was a ruined man, socially, politically, and pecuniari- 



1 The political intrigues and social immoralities of Burr had become so generally known in 1S04 that his future suc- 
cess in any political schemes was extremely doubtful. He offered himself as an independent candidate for Governor 
of the State of New York in the spring of 1S04, and was defeated, as he believed, through the powerful influence of Alex- 
ander Hamilton, who was convinced that he wag uniit for any important place of honor or profit. Th.at failure imbit- 
tered him. This feeling was intensified by the consciousness that he was suspected and distrusted every where. Ham- 
ilton, whom he regarded as his arch-enemy, was at the same time honored and trusted. His integrity was not doubted 
by his most uncompromising political enemies. This contrast was like glowing embers upon the head of Burr, and he 
was resolved to destroy his antagonist. A pretext for action to that end was not long wanting. A zealous partisan of 
Burr's competitor in the late election, in his zeal during the canvass, declared in print that Hamilton had said that the 
Vice-President was a "dangerous man, who ought not to be trusted with the reins of government." Again he wrote, 
"I could detail you a more despicable opinion which General Hamilton has expressed of Burr." 

These alleged expressions were made the basis of a challenge, on the part of Burr, to mortal combat. Hamilton per- 
ceived .at the beginning that Burr was determined to force him to fight, against his own convictions of the wrongfulness 
of dueling and the necessities of the case. He took honorable means to avoid a meeting. His malignant enemy could 
not be appeased. At length, compelled by the wretched custom of society then prevailing, called " the code of honor," 
he accepted the challenge, met BmT on the western shore of the Hudson near Weehawken early on the morning of the 
11th of July, 1804, and received a mortal wound. He declared his intention not to Are at Burr, and adhered to his reso- 
lution, while the murderer took deliberate aim, and accomplished his errand to the field of blood. Hamilton was con- 
veyed across the river to the house of a friend, where he died after suffering for twenty-four hours. The coroner returned 
a verdict of willful murder. A bill of indictment for that crime was found against him in New Jersey, within the Juris- 
diction of which the duel was fonght, and the Grand Jury of New York found bills against him and his seconds for being 
soncerned in a duel, the punishment for which, by a recent act of that state, was disfranchisement and incapacity to 
tiold office for twenty years. Burr fled to Philadelphia, and from thence to Georgia. 

2 Barton's Life of Aaron Burr, page 3T2. = The same. 

« The same, page 873. Senator Plnmer wrote in November, 1804, "Mr. Jefferson has shown bim more attention, and in- 
cited him oftener to his house within the last three months, than he ever did for the s.ame time before. Mr. Gallatin [Sec- 
■etary of the Treasury] has waited upon him oftener at his lodgings, and one day was closeted with him more than 
;wo hours. Mr. Madison, formerly the intimate friend of Hamilton, has taken his murderer into his carriage, and ac- 
jompanied him on a visit to the French minister. . . . The Democrats of both houses .are remarkably attentive to Bnrr. 
iVhat office they can give him is uncertain. Mr. Wright, of Maryland, said in debate, ' The first duel I ever read of was 
;hat of David killing Goliath. Our little David of the Republicans has killed the Goliath of Federalism, and for this I 
im willing to reward him.' "-See Life of William Pluvmr, by his son, page 328. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



136 

Burr's Schemes for his o^vn Profit. Blennerhassett and hi s Home. Burr deceives Andrew Jackson and John Adair. 

ly. Every legitimate avenue to a retrieval of his character and fortune seemed to be 
closed, and he became desperate. His ambition was as intense as ever, and he sought 
new fields for the exercise of his powers. He spent the ensuing summer in the West. 
It was for him a season of wide observation of men and things, having a bearing upon 
some grand enterprise Avhich he had conceived. As he Avent leisurely down the 
Ohio he visited Harman Blennerhassett, a wealthy and cultivated Irishman, who, with 
a beautiful and equally cultivated wife, had formed for themselves a sort of terrestrial 
paradise upon an island in the Ohio River a short distance below the mouth of the 
Muskingum. Husband and wife were equally charmed by Burr. He fired their 
imaginations with glimpses of his schemes of personal grandeur for all who should 
co-operate with hmi. He filled their minds wfth dreams of immense wealth and 
power; and when he left their home the sunshine of their sweet domestic felicity had 
departed forever. Blennerha&sett was a changed man. He had placed his wealth 
and reputation in the keeping of an unpi'incipled profligate, and lost both.^ 
At that time the brave and incorruptible Andrew Jackson was in command of the 
Tennessee militia. In May^ Burr appeared at the door of his mansion, a few 
miles from Nashville, and was received as an honored guest. To that stem 
patriot he talked of the establishment of a splendid empire in the Southwest, where 
the Spaniards then ruled ; and, before he departed, he had won Jackson's confidence, 
and his promises of co-operation. He met Wilkinson at St. Louis, and divulged some 
of his schemes to that weak man. He won the friendship of other influential persons. 



among them General 
Adair, of Kentucky ; 
and in the autumn 
he returned to Wash- 
ington, and sought to 




yfIoov^-'v^'^ 



win to his service 
dissatisfied military 
and naval officers. 
He talked enigmat- 
ically, and, to the 




BLENNLEiiAWbl' 11 S KESIDEN 



' Blennerhassett's was in- 
deed a beautiful and happy 
home. It was the creation of 
wealth, taste, and love. The 
mansion was elej^ant. The 
gardens were laid out and 
planted with care. Conserv- 
atories were rich in exotics. 
Science, music, painting, farm 
culture, and social pleasures 
made up a great portion of 
the sum of daily life in that 
elegant retreat. It became 
the resort of the best minds 
west of the mountains. The 
lately rude island smiled with 
peTpetual beauty. To the sim- 
ple settlers upon the neigh- 
boring shore the house seem- 
Into that paradise the wily serpent crept, and polluted 



ed like a palace, and the way of living there like that of a prince, 
it with its slime. 

Harman Blennerhassett was a descendant of an ancient Irish family, whose seat was Castle Conway, in Kerry. His 
education was thoroughly given at Trinity College, in Dublin, and he graduated at the same time with his friend and 
kinsman, Thomas Addis Emmett. He loved and studied scieuce. On the death of his father in 179S he inherited a large 
fortune. Having become involved in political troubles, he sold his estate, went to England, and married the beautiful 
and accomplished Mies Agnew, granddaughter of one of the British generals killed at the battle at Germanto\\Ti, near 
Philadelphia. They came to America, 
journeyed to the West, purchased the 
island in the Ohio which still bears 
his name, made their home there, and 
for five years before Burr's appearance 
they had enjoyed perfect happiness 
and repose. A fine library, pictures, 
scientific apparatus gave them imple- 
ments for mental culture, and they Improved the opportunity. When Burr's mad schemes failed Blennerhassett's para- 
dise was laid waste. He became a cotton-planter in Mississippi, but finally lost his fortune. He and his wife finally 
returned to England, where he died at the age of sixty-one years. His widow came to America to seek from Congress 
some remuneration for his losses. While the matter was pending she sickened and died in poverty in New York in 
August, 1842, and was buried by the Sisters of Charity. 




i^^^— 



OF THE WAR OP 1812. 137 



Military Preparations on the Ohio Elver. Bnrr saspected of Treason and denounced. His Arrest and Trial. Bxlle. 

ears of some, disloyally. Now he spoke of an expedition against Mexico, then of a 
union of the Western States and Territories into a glorious independent government. 
To General Eaton he talked of usurpation — of taking possession, by the instrument- 
ality of a revolution, of the national capital and archives, and, Cromwell-like, assuming 
for himself the character of a protector Of an energetic government.' The President 
was apprised of these things, but he regarded Burr's language and schemes as those 
of a desperate politician too weak to be dangerous.^ 

In the summer of 1806 Burr was again in the West, engaged in his grand scheme, 
into the inner secrets of which he had not allowed any man to penetrate. Blenner- 
hassett's home was his head-quarters, and a military organization was his work. A 
flotilla was formed at Marietta, on the Ohio, laden with provisions and military stores ; 
and large numbers of leading men in the West, ignorant of the real designs of Burr, 
but believing the great central plan to be the construction of a magnificent Anglo- 
Saxon empire in Mexico, in whose glories they all might share, joined in the enter- 
prise. Wilkinson was made the arch-conspirator's willing tool. Having been en- 
gaged in intrigues with the Spaniards in a scheme that would have dismembered the 
Union, he was now a fitting instrument for Burr's disloyal designs. 

But in Kentucky there was a man not to be deceived by Aaron Burr. It was that 
remarkable character. Colonel Joe Daviess, who gave his life to his country on the 
field of Tippecanoe. He was then the United States District Attorney for Kentucky. 
He believed Burr to be engaged in treasonable plans, and procured his arrest. Young 
Henry Clay defended the prisoner, and he was acquitted ; but Daviess never doubted 
his guilt. Jackson too had become convinced that Burr was preparing to separate 
the West from the rest of the Union, and he denounced him. " I hate the Dons," he 
wrote to Governor Claiborne," " and would delight to see Mexico re- . November 12, 
duced ; but I would die in the last ditch before I would see the Union i^^^- 

disunited !" Wilkinson, alarmed at the aspect of affairs, turned traitor to Burr, and 
also denounced him. 

Meanwhile the government had become alarmed. The whole West, and indeed 
the whole country, was agitated by Burr's operations ; and the magnitude of his 
preparations, the persons involved in his toils, and the known disposition of unscru- 
pulous politicians west of the mountains to set up for independency, caused the Pres- 
ident to take measures to arrest what seemed to be treason, in the bud. Jefferson 
did not choose to give it that complexion, and, in a proclamation for the arrest Of 
Burr's designs, whatever they might be, he warned all persons against participating 
in a scheme for "invading the Spanish dominions." 

Boats at Marietta, on the Ohio, loaded for New Orleans with materials for the ex- 
pedition, were seized, and Blennerhassett's Island was occupied by United States 
troops. In February, 1807," Burr was arrested near Fort Stoddart, on ^^^^^^^^^^3 
the Tombigbee River, in the present State of Alabama, by Lieutenant 
(afterward Major General) E. P. Gaines. He was taken to Richmond, in Virginia, 
and there tried on a charge of treason. Chief Justice Marshall presided over the 
court. Burr was acquitted ; but, from that day to this, no intelligent student of the 
history of events in the West during the years 1 805 and 1 806, doubts that he was en- 
gaged in a wicked conspiracy to dissever the Union, and establish a government over 
which, in some form, he should be the ruler. His escape from conviction was so nar- 
row, and his fears of farther prosecution were so great, that, after remaining concealed 
for several weeks among his friends, he sailed for Europe under the name of G. H. 
Edwards. He remained in exile and poverty for several years. 



1 "He said if he could gain over the marine corps, and secure the naval commanders Truxtun, Preble, Decatur, and 
others, he would turn Congress neck and heels out of doors, assassinate the President, seize on the treasury andfcavy, 
and declare himself the protector of an energetic government."— Deposition of General William Eaton. See Life of 
Eaton, page 396-400, inclusive. ' The same, page 401. 



8 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



e ' ' Eule of 1756" modified. Commercial Tlu-ift in t he United States. The Jealoasy of British Merchants aronsed. 

While the people of the United States were violently agitated by these events in 
e "West the war in Europe was progressing, and France and England had com- 
enced their desperate game for supremacy at the expense of the commercial pros- 
irity of the world. 

For a long time the commercial thrift of the United States, fostered by a modifica- 
)n of the British "rule of 1766,"' had been the envy of English merchants. That 
edification had been made solely for the supposed benefit of British commercial in- 
rests. Relying upon the faith of that government, tacitly pledged in the formal 
:position of the terms of that modification by the law ofiicer of the crown, the 
merican ship-owners commenced and carried on a most exteiisive and profitable 
ade.2 American vessels became the chief carriers of the products! of the colonies of 
ranee and Holland ; also of Spain after her accession to the French alliance. Swe- 
in, Denmark, and the Hanse Towns^ were then the only neutral maritime powers, 
id these, in common with the United States, were fast growing rich.* 
First the envious British merchants complained ; then the privateersmen and navy 
Beers, who declared that, as there were no more prizps to take, their occupation was 



See note 1, page 84. 

On the accession of Alexander to the throne of Rassia, after the assassination of the Emperor Panl in March, 1801, 
! most friendly relations were established between that country and Great Britain. On the 17th of June, 1801, a treaty 
8 concluded between the two governments "to settle," as the preamble expressed it, "an invariable determination 
the principles of the two governments upon the rights of neutrality." In that treaty not only the "rule of 1766'.' was 
b recognized, but the right of the neutral to trade with the colonies of belligerents, and from his own country in the 
)duce of those colonies to the mother country, was expressly stipulated. As this was avowedly the "settled princi- i 
;" of the government of Great Britain, American commerce had no more fears. But its sense of security was soon 
turbed, but' immediately quieted by the prompt action of Mr. King, the American minister at the British court. Early 
1801 he was informed that a decree of the Vice- Admiralty Court at Nassau, New Providence, had condemned the cargo 
an American vessel goin.g from the United States to a port in the Spanish colonies, the cargo consisting of articles 
! growth of old Spain.' Mr. King immediately presented a respectful remonstrance to the British government against 
s infringement of the rights of neutrals. The matter was referred to the king's advocate general (Lord Hawkesbury), 
LO reported, on the 16th of March, 1301, in the following words, the doctrine of England at that time* concerning the 
Ms of neutrals: ' 

' It is ntow distinctly understood, and has been repeatedly so decided by the High Court of Appeals, that theprodrnx 
theMlomks of the enemy may he imported by a neutral into his own country, and may he exported from thence, evm to the 
ther country ofeuch colony ; and, in like manner, the produce and manufactures of the mother country may, in this cir- 
'toua mode, legally find their way to the colonies. The direct trade, -however, between the mother country and its colo- 
is has not, I apprehend, been recognized as legal, either by his majesty's government or by his tribunals." He then 
plained what rule should govern the carrying of goods to cause them to avoid a fair definition of " direct trade" and 
in conformity to the modification of the " rule of 1766," above mentioned, by saying, " that landing the goods and pay- 
; the duties in the neutral country breaks the continuity of the voyage, and is such an importation as legalizes the 
de, although the goods be reshipped in the same vessel, and on account of the same neutral proprietors, and be for- 
xded for sale to the mother country or the colonies." 

)n the 30th of March the Duke of Portland (the principal Secretary of State) sent the above extracts from the report 
the advocate to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, with a letter in which he said, " I have the honor to sig- 
y to your lordships the king's pleasure that a communication of the doctrine laid down in the said report should be 
mediately made, by your lordships to the several judges presiding in them, setting forth what is held to be the law 
m the subject by the superior tribunals for their future guidance and direction."— Letters from Messrs. Monroe and 
ickney to Lord Howick, August 20, 1806. 

Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen. These are all that remain of the ancient Hanseatic League, a commercial union 
a number of Gei-man port-towns in support of each other against the piracies of the Swedes and Danes, formed in 
14, and formally signed in 1211. At one time the league comprised sixty-six cities, and possessed grea"t political power, 
ey were reduced by various causes to their present number more than two hundred years ago. The Congress at Vi- 
la in JS15 guaranteed the freedoin of these cities. » 

The following table exhibits'the export trade o.f the United States for four years: 



Ybahs. 


Foreign. 


DOMBSTIC. 


Total. 


1803 


13,694,000 
36,231,000 
■^3,179,000 
00,283,000 


42,206,000 
41,408,000 
42,3.87,000 
41,253,000 


55,800,000 
77; 099,000 , 
95,560,000 
101,636,000 


1804 


1805 


1806 




103,287,000 


167,314,000 


330,001,000 



This exhibit was made pecnliarly annoying to the English, because the foreign articles were priucinally oroductiona 
the colonies of the enemies of Great Britain. 



Montesquieu, wi-iting ten years before the English "rule of 1756" in regard to the rights of neutrals was promul- 
:ea, said, concernrag the spuit of that people, " Supremely jealous with respect to trade, they bind themselves but lit- 

by^reaties, and depend only on their own laws. Other nations have made the interests of commerce yield to those 
politics i the Enghsh, on the contrary, have ever made their political interests give way to those of commerce "—See 



e Spirit, of Laws, ii., 8. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 139 



Eeassertion of the " Eule of 1750." British Perfidy defended by British Writers. Baring's Exposure. 

greatly interfered with. The enemies of Great Britain, having full use of neutral 
merchant vessels, had none of their own , on the ocean. Armed ships, protected by 
the neutral flag, performed all the duties of practical commerce, and the trade of the 
maritime foes of England was but little interrupted by existing war. The " rule of 
1756," it was alleged, was whoUy evaded. 

These complaints were heeded. The Courts of Admiralty began to listen willingly 
to suggestions that this allegation of neutral property was in many, if not in most 
cases, a mere fraud, intended to give to belligerent goods a neutral character ; and 
early in the summer of 1805 the "rule of 1756" was revived in full force. ^ Like kin- 
dred measures on previous occasions,^ it was put into operation secretly ;, and the first 
intimation that the maritime law laid down by the king's advocate in 1801, was abro- 
gated, was the seizure by British cruisers and condemnation by British Admiralty 
Courts of American vessels and their cargoes. At the same time English public 
writers put forth specious defenses of the action of their government in its revival of 
the old practice. One of these was James Stephens, a lawyer of ability, supposed to 
have been employed for the purpose by the government. He wrote* an able > October 
and elaborate essay, under the title of" War in Disguise, or the Frauds of the i^'"'- 
l!f eutral Flags," in which, taking the " rule of 1 756" as the law of nations, " to which," 
he said, " the neutral powers have all assented, in point of principle, by submitting to 
its partial applicatibn,"^ he argued that the immense trade carried on .with the ene- 
mies of England under the American flag was essentially war against Great Britain. 

" War in Disguise" was " written in. the spirit of a lawyer stimulated by that of a 
merchant,"* and was full of dogmatic assertions and bold sophistries. It was ably 
answered in England by Alexander Baring,^ and in America by James Madison, then 

• In May, 1806, the decision of the Lords of Appeal on the case of the cargo of the American ship Essex unchained the 
chafing English cruisers. It was necessary, for the sake of decency, to give to the world a fair excuse for that decision. 
It had already been decided that when goods had been made a common stock of America by a fair importation and 
tlw payment of ditties, they might be re-exported from thence to any part of the world. To evade this decision, the 
Court of Appeals, in the case above alluded to, established the illegality of the neutral trade, "founded on a discovery," 
says Alexander Baring (see note 5, below), "now made for the first time, that the duties on the cargo imported had 
not actually been paid in yvmey, but by bond of the importer." This decision contracted the whole foreign trade of 
America excepting that in lier own produce. " It circulated rapidly among our cruisers and privateers," continues Mr. 
Baring, " and in the course of a fortnight the .seas were cleared of every American ship they could find, which now 
crowded our ports for trial." — See Baring's Inquiry into the Caixses a«d Con^quffnces of the Orders in Council, pages 81, 82. 

2 See page 84. ' 

3 This assumption was characteristic. England, on her own motion, promulgated the "rule of 1756" as a "law of na- 
tions ;" and having the power to enforce it for half a century in the face of the most vehement protests of every respect- 
able maritime nation— even armed protests— her statesmen and publicists agreed that those nations had " assented to 
it ;" as if a wrong imreaented on account of the weakness of the sufferers became .a right ! It was never assented to. The 
" Armed Neutrality" of 1780 and 1800 were marked protests against it, and the Americaii principle and policy always op- 
posed the assumption. , From the first protest against it in 1793 until the close of 1861, when Secretary Seward, in a letter 
to Lord Lyons, the British minister at Washington, in the case of the San Jacinto and Trerc^,' reiterated the American 
doctrine concerning the protecting powers of a neutral flag, the Americans have opposed the "rule of 1766." For a full 
account of the case of the San Jacinto and Trent, see Lossing's Pictorial History of the Oivil War. 

1 Madison. 

5 The eminent English merchaut,^lexander Baring (afterward Lord Aehburton, and at that time a member of Parlia- 
ment), put forth a pamphlet in February, 1808, entitled .4?i Inquinj into tlw Ca/u^es and Consequences oftlie Orders inCoun^ 
eil, etc. It was published in February, 1808, and contains a most searching exposure of the mischievous exaggerations 
and sophisms of this essay. It is not extravagant to say that that essay, in its injurious influence, was one of the most 
potent causes of the war between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, because it justified in a semi-oflicial manner 
the outrages of the British government, through its navy, on the commerce of the United States, under the sanction of 
orders in council, and deluded the English mind with a semblance of justice. Speaking 'of some of the statements of 
the author of War in Disguise, Mr. Baring said, "He appears ignorant of every thing relative to American trade to a de- ' 
gree incredible." 

War in Disguise was followed by other pamphlets of lesser note on the same side. Among the most noted of these was 
one entitled Ttie Present Claims and Complaints of America Briefly and Fairly Considered. It was an jpho of War in Disguise, 
and was published in London at the close of May, 1806. On the back of the title-page of the copy in my possession is 
the foUovring memorandum in manuscript by Brooke Watson, who was an eminent Canadian merchant when the Eev- 
oltttion broke out in 1775, and was a violent partisan of the crown : 

"June 5th, 6th, 7th, and Sth, 1806. Bead this pamphlet with all the attention in my power to give it, and under all 
the consideration of my capacity, accompanied with as much disinterestedness as the nature of the subject will permit 
to exercise. I am of opinion that, should this country give way to the solicitations of the American States, and much 
less to their hostile threats, they will, by so doing, that is, by allowing the Americans to be the carriers of the produce 
of the French colonies to the mother country, sacrifice the deepest interest of this nation to the views of Prance and the 
growing insolence of the Americans.— East Sheen, Sth June, 1806. Bbooue Watsos. 

"Read 'War in Disguise,' Lord Sheffield, etc." 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



swer to " War in Disguise." Foreig n Belations nnpromising. Expected DifflciUties with Great Britain. 

e Secretary of State. In that answer, referring to menaces in Mr. Stephens's essay,; 
adison uttered the following noble words, prophetic of soon-coming deeds that vin- 
oated the power behind them: "The blessing of God on our first contest in arms 
ide this nation sovereign, free, and independent. Our citizens feel their honorable 
ndition, and, whatever may be their opinion on questions of national policy, will 
fmly support the national rights. Our government must therefore be permitted to 
idge for itself. No minister, however splendid his talents, no prince, however great 
3 power, must dictate to the President of the United States."' 
The foreign relations of the United States at the opening of the year 1806 were 
[promising. The conduct of the Spanish government in reference to Louisiana 
emed to render war with that nation inevitable. Forbearance on the part of the 
„„„„„ » Americans was exhausted, and a select committee of Congress reported* 
1S06. that the aggressions of Spain afforded ample cause for war. i3ut as the 
ilicy of the country was always a peaceful one, it was proposed, while preparing 
I- hostilities, to endeavor to avert them, and settle all matters in dispute by the 
Lrchase of a part or the whole of the Floridas from Spain. Action to that end was 
ken, but the war-cloud soon passed away, 

Not so with the harbingers of a storm that was evidently brewing between the 
aited States and Great Britain. The depredations of British cruisers and priva- 
ers on American commerce, commenced under the most absurd and frivolous pre- 
xts,2 and fiilly sanctioned by the British government, produced the most intense 
iignation throughout the country ; and when the Ninth Congress had assei&bled at 
Washington in December, 1805, the subject was speedily presented to their notice, 
r. Jefferson had been re-elected President of the United States, and the Democratic 
irty, of which he was the founder and head, had an overwhelming majority in the 
ational Legislature. Its power became somewhat weakened by the defection of 
ihn Randolph, of Roanoke, one of its leaders, a quarrelsome and ambitious man of 
iried but not solid attainments, who carried with him several of his Virginia col- 
igues, and filled the halls of legislation during the entire session with unprofitable 
ckerings. • 

On account of British depredations, memorials from the merchants of nearly all of 
e maritime towns of the United States north of the Potomac, argumentative and 
munciatory in substance, and numerously signed, were pi-esented to the President ; 
id on the iVth of January these, with a special message on the subject, were 
id before Congress by Mr. Jefferson, together with parts of the diplomatic corre- 

This reply to Mr. Stephens was published anonymously in February, 1S06, with the title otAnAnsmer to "War in 
iguise;" or^ Rermarks on the Kern DoctriTie of England concerninfj, Neutral Trad£, 

i.fter the capture of the Maeedonian by Decatur in the autumn of 1812, the following epigram appeared in Cobbett's 
lificaZiZefrister, an English publication :' 

"WAE IN DISGUISE; OE, 

AN APOLOGY FOK HIS MAJESTY'S HAVY. 

" One Stephens, a lawyer, and once a reporter, 
■Of war and of taxes a gallant supporter. 
In some way or other to Wilberforce kin. 
And a member, like him, of a borough bought in, 
Who a Master in Chancery since has been made, 
Wrote a pamphlet to show that Jonathan's teaue 
Was a ' Wab in DisoxnsE ;' which, though strange at first sight, 
Events have since proved may have been but too right ; 
For when Garden the ship of the Yankee Decatur 
Attacked, without doubting to take her or beat her, 
A FBiGATE she seemed to his glass and his eyes ; 
But when taken himsdf, how great his surprise 
To find her a sevemtt-fotte in disottise 1 

" If Jonathan thns has the art of disguising, 
That he captures our ships is by no means surprising ; 
And it can't be disgraceful to strike to an elf 
Who is more than a match for the devil himself.— Puss." 
' Baring's Inquiry, etc., page 96. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 141 



Memorials of Merchants on the Subject of British Depredations. Conduct of the British Cruisers. 

spondence on the same topic by Mr. Monroe, the United States minister at the Brit- 
ish court. The President assui-ed Congress that Mr. Monroe had been instructed " to 
insist on rights too evident and too important to h6 surrendered. ' 

The memorials fronl the merchants were generally drawn with great ability ; and 
it is a notable fact that these mfen, whoj as a class, naturally deprecate war because 
it is destructive to commerce, and are willing to make great concessions to avoid it, 
called earnestly upon the government to put forth the strong powers of the ai-my 
and navy, if necessary, in defense of the rights of neutrals and the protection of 
American interests. 

There were memorials from Boston, Salem, Newburyport, New Haven, New York, 
Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and all called loudly for redress, under the evident ex- 
pectation that to insist upon it would cause war. 

The Boston merchants said that they folly relied that " such measures would be 
promptly adopted as would tend to disembarrass commerce, assert our rights, and 
support the dignity/ of the United States." 

The merchants of Salem said, " If, however, conciliation can not effect the purpose, 
and an appeal to arms be the last and necessary protection.of honor, they feel no dis- 
position to decline the common danger or shrink from the common contribution. 
Relying on the wisdom and firmness of the general government on this behalf, they 
feel no hesitation to pledge their lives and properties in the support of the measures 
which may he adopted to vindicate the public rights and redress the public wrongs." 

The merchants of Newburyport relied "with confidence on the firmness and justice 
of the government to obtain for them compensation and protection;" and those of 
New Haven called upon that government " firmly to resist every encroachment upon 
the rights of neutrar nations." They tendered " assurances of their disposition to 
give aid and support to every measure calculated to accomplish this important 
object." . 

The New York merchants declared their firm "reliance upon the government of 
their country that their rights would not be abandoned, and (referring to the assump- 
tion of the Author of "War in Disguise," see page 139) that no argument in favor 
of a usurpation would ever be derived from their acquiescence." They concluded 
by saying, "We pledge our united support in favor of all the measures adopted to 
vindicate and secure the just rights of our country." 

The merchants of Philadelphia suggested that when every peaceable means conr 
sistent with honor had been tried to recover redress, and failed, that a resort to 
arms might be necessary. " If such measures should prove ineffectual," they said, 
" whatever may be the sacrifice on their part, it would be met with submission." 

These memorials were signed by merchants of every shade of politics, and by for- 
eigners doing business in these ports. For more than ten years they had suffered 
greatly from the varying but always aggressive policy of Great Britain, a policy now 
g*reatly aggravated by the latitude tacitly given to the British cruisers in respect to 
American commerce. These were in little danger of being made answerable for any 
errors, and were consequently not disposed to make nice distinctions. They detained 
and sent in every vessel they met under the most frivolous pretenses, in which they 
were encouraged by the expectation of actual war. They captured American vessels 
with cargoes wholly of American produce ; and the owners of privateers were in the 
daily practice of taking in valuable cargoes and offering immediately to release them 
for one or two hundred guineas, and sometimes a larger sum. " In these instances," 
says Mr. Baring, "the judge decreed the restitution of the ship and cargo, and costs 
against the captors, with expressions of indignation which so lawless an outrage nec- 
essarily excited. The latter had, in the face of this censure, the audacity to enter ap- 



' SUtUsman'a Manual, i., 2T8. 



142 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

[mpressment of American Seamen into tlie British Service. The Kight of Search asserted. Protest of the Americans. 

peals, and the American was obliged either to compromise or leave to the captor the 
option of bringing forward his appeal within a twelve-month, with the possible ad- 
vantage of an intervening war securing to him his prize.' The London merchant," he 
said, " is either obliged to acquiesce in this iniquitous robbery, or let his correspondent 
suffer the more expensive vexations which it is, unfortunately, in the power of these 
people to inflict. If these are the maritime rights," exclaims the honest and indig- 
aant Englishman, " for which, we are told, with a pompous ambiguity that always 
ivoids coming to the point, ' our ancestors foaght and bled,' and for which ' we 
jrushed the N"orthern Confederacy^'^ I am stran^y mistaken. "^ 

Another and most serious subject of coniplaint against Great Britain was now 
3onsidered in connection with the depredations upon American commerce. It was 
;he impressment into the British naval service of seamen taken without leave from 
American vessels, and who were sailing under the protection of the American flag. 
To this subject we have already referred.* It had been a topic of complaint and ne- 
gotiation from the beginning of the national government in 1V89, and impressment 
n general was a system against which humane British publicists and statesmen had 
leclaimed. But the British government, not always the exponent of the English 
nind and heart, governed by expediency rather than justice, and having the prece- 
lents of more than four. hundred years to support its policy in this respect,^ had then 
or half a Century chosen to exercise that power in. procuring seamen for its navy, 
,nd to utterly disregard other hoary precedents which would have justified it in 
ibolishing the nefarious system. ^ It was too useful in time of war, in the replenish- 
aent of the navy, to be relinquished. Upon it had been ingrafted another more uni- 
'ersally offensive. It was that of se«»-cAmgr neutral vessels for British seamen, and, 
eizing them without other criteria of their nationality than the presumptive evi- 
dence which similarity of language afforded, impressing .them into the British naval 
ervice. In the course of fifteen years thousands of native Americans had. thus been 
aade to serve a master whom they detested. There being no maritime power strong 
nough to resist these aggressions, it was assumed by Great Britain, as in the case of 
he " rule of 1V56," that it was for her an established " maritime right." * 

From the beginning of its career the government of the United States protested 
gamst the right of search and the impressment of seamen taken from under the 
Lmerican fiag. In his instructions to the United States minister in London in the 
ammer of 1792, Mr. Jefferson directed him to call the attention of the British minis- ' 
L-y to the subject. That government not denying that American seamen had been 
npressed,had made the degrading proposition that, for their protection against such 
accidents," such seamen should carry with them a certificate of citizenship ' " This 
I a condition," said Mr; Jefferson, "never yet submitted to by any nation'" The 
ight to enter an American vessel without leave,/o»- any pretense, was then and al- 
ways has been, strongly denied by the government of the United States. The War 
f 1812 with England was a solemn. protest against the assumption of that right ^y 
le British government; and such a requirement of American sailors would operate 
ractically as a warrant to British cruisers for stripping almost every American ves- 
il of Its seamen, for the habits, calling, and vicissitudes of the sailor are such that 
lost of them would soon lose their " certificates." The proposition had been unhes- 
atmgly rejected as inadmissible by an independent nation 

In October of the same year Mr. Jefferson again called the attention of the embas- 
idor to the subject, "so many instances" of impressment having been complained 

V^:^^.t:'^'^'''- =A™«^^-'-l%. see note 2, page 83. = Baring's /«,„,>,, pages 96, 90,97. . 

> The statute of 2 Richard II. speaks of impressment being well known as early aslSTS 

Impressment was declared to he illegal by the British government in 1041 ^ ""''"''• .. _ 

' Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Pinckney, June 11, 1T92. 



OF THE WA R OF 1812. 



143 



Correspondence on the Subject of Impressments. 



Rufus King. 



His Arrain-ument of the British Government. 



of ;^ and in November he expressed to Mr. Pinckney tbe hope that he might " be able 
to malce the British ministry sensible of the necessity of punishing the past and pre- 
venting the future."^ 



In 1796 Timothy 
Pickering, then Sec- 
retary of State, in 
his instructions to 
Mr. King, Ameri- 
can minister at the 
Court of London,^ 
spoke of " the long 
and fruitless at- 
tempts that have 
been made to pro- 
tect American sea- 
men from British 
impress," and di- 
rected him to do all 
in his power to en- 
able the American 
flag to " protect 
those of whatever 
nation who sail un- 
der it."* In anoth- 
er dispatch the same year he 




ry on board their 
ships for American 
seamen," and there- 
fore " their doom is 
fixed for the war. 
Thus," he said, "the 
rights of an inde- 
pendent nation are 
to be sacrificed to 
British dignity. 
Justice requires 
that such inquiries 
and examinations 
be made, because, 
otherwise, the lib- 
eration of our sea- 
men will be im- 
possible. For the 
British govern- 
ment then to make 
professions of re- 
spect to the rights of our cit- 
izens, and willingness to re- 



alludes to the fact that the (Ji\,{^yi /tC*-^^ izens, and willingness to 
British government had gone / IrJ lease them, and yet deny the 

so far as not to " permit inqui- only means of ascertaining 

those rights, is an insulting tantalism. If the British government have any regard 
to our rights, any respect for our nation, and place any value on our friendship, they 
will even facilitate to us the means of releasing our oppressed citizens."^ 

A little later he wrote, " The British naval officers often impress Swedes, Danes, 
and other foreigners from the vessels of the United States. They have even some- 
times impressed Frenchmen ! . . . They can not pretend an uiability to distinguish 
these foreigners from their own subjects. They may with as much reason rob the 
American vessels of the property or merchandise of the Swedes, Danes, or Portu- 
guese, as seize and detain in their service the subjects of those nations found on board 
American vessels."'^ 

Durino- the following year very many complaints concerning impressed American 
seamen were made to the government of the Uuited States, and cases of absolute 



1 Mr. Jefferson to Mr. Pinckney, October 12, 1T02. 

3 The same to the same, November 0, 1702. 

= Eufas King was born in Scarborough, Maine, in the year 17.55. He was a student in Harvard College in 1776, when 
the breaking out of the war for Independence suspended that institution. He chose the law for his professi(m, and be- 
came an able practitioner. He was in Sullivan's army in Rhode Isl.ind in 177S, and was admitted to the bar in 1780. His 
first appearance was in opposition to his great instructor, Theophilus Parsons, of Newburyport. His oratorical talents 
soon became known and appreciated, and in 1784 he was elected to a seat in the Legislature of Massachusetts. In the 
National Convention of 1787 he was an efficient member, and nobly advocated the ratification of the Constitution there 
adopted. Having married the daughter of an opuleut merchant of New York, Mr. King made that city his residence In 
1783 and the next year was elected to a seat in the Legislature of New York. He was one of the first United States sen- 
ators from New York, and in 1700 was appointed minister to Great Britain. He returned home in 1803. From 181.? to 
1820 he was a member of the United States Senate. At the close of his term he was sent to England as minister pleni- 
potentiary, but ill health compelled him to relinquish his post and return home after a residence of about a year there. 
He died at' his home near Jamaica, Long Island, on the 29th of April, 1827, at the age of seventy-two years. 

* Mr. Pickering to Mr. King, June 8, 1790. 

5 The same to the same, September 10, 1796. 

« The same to the same, October 20, 1796. 



44 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



mel Treatment of American Seamen in the BritiBh Navy. Secretary Marshall to MinJBter King. 

ruelty exercised toward and hardships endured by American seamen thus impressed 
^ere reported.' 

The United States government, always inclined to peace, frequently urged upon 
lat of Great Britain the necessity of a convention which should settle the questions 
f impress and neutrality, but without success, for the British government prac- 
cally assumed the right to be a law unto itself. Early in 1*799 Mr. King made an 
irnest representation on the subject to Lord Grenville, denying, as he had on former 
Dnferences, any right of the kind on the part of Great Britain, and suggesting that 
Lmerican ships of war, by permission of their government, might with equal right 
ursue the same practice toward British merchantmen. He protested against the in- 
iscriminate seizure on board of American vessels of seamen of several nations, and 
ressed him for some definite assurance of a change. But Grenville, as usual, was 
^rasive, and the conference ended without a prospect of satisfaction. Grenville as- 
ired Mr. King that all Americans so impressed should be discharged on application 
)r that purpose ; but the American minister very properly considered that offer far 
lort of satisfaction. " Indeed," he said, " to acquiesce in it is to give up the right. "^ 

Late in the year 1800, John Marshall, then Secretary of State, wrote an able and 
[oquent letter to Mr. King in London on the subject of the impress. "The impress- 
lent of our seamen," he said, " is an injury of very serious magnitude, which deeply 
ffects the feelings and the honor of the nation. . . . They are dragged on board 
iritish ships of war with evidences of citizenship in their hands, and forced by vio- 
snce there to serve until conclusive testimonials of their birth can be obtained. . . . 
Llthough the Lords of the Admiralty uniformly direct their discharge on the produc- 

1 Inyestigation revealed the following facts: on the 4th of Jnly, 1794, Captain Silas Talbot, of the United States Navy, 
rote from Kingston, Jamaica, to Secretary Pickering, that Admiral Sir Hyde Parker had " issued a general order to all 
ptains and commanders of ships and vessels of war, directing them not to obey any vprit of habeas ccyrpus, nor suffer 
ly men to leave their ships in consequence of such writ." This order was issued because Talbot had made successful 
>plications to the civil authorities on that island for the release of enslaved Americans on board British vessels. Tal- 
)t, however, persevered in his humane efforts, and he wrote that, while all the writs which he had obtained were 
rved, none of them were obeyed. The naval officers on that station set the civil authority at defiance, and Talbot 
rote, "The laws in this island, it seems, can not be administered for the relief of American citizens who are held in 
ritish slavery, many of whom, as they write me from on board Captain Otway's ship, Imve been brought to the gangway 
id whipped for writing to their agent to get them discharged /" 

William Cobbett, an BngUshman, wrote afterward in his Political Register, saying, " Onr ships of war, when they meet 
1 American vessel at sea, board her and take out of her by force any seamen whom onr officers assert to be British 
Lbjecta. Th£re is no rule by whieh they are bouvd. They aclai discretion; and the consequence is that great numbers 
' native Americans have been impressed, and great number? of them are now in our navy. . . . That many of these 
en have died on board our ships, that many have been wounded, that many have been killed in action, and that many 
ive been worn out in the service there can be no doubt. Some obtain their release through the application of the 
merican consul here ; and of these the sufferings have in many Instances been very great. There have been instances 
here men have thus got free after having been flogged through the fleet for desertion* But it has been asked whether we 
•e not to take our sailors where we find them ? To which America answers, ' Yes.' . . . She wishes not to hdve in her 
lips any British sailors, and she is willing to give them up whenever the fact of their being British sailors can be 
roved; but let not men be seized in her ships upon the high seas (and sometimes at the mouths of her own rivers), 
here there is nobody to judge between the parties, and where the British officer going on board is at once aoottsee, 
ITNEBS, JunGE, and oaptoe !" 
= Mr. King to Mr. Pickering, March 15, 1799. 

* There is ample testimony to prove the cruel treatment experienced by impressed American seamen on board British 
issels. Richard Thompson, a native of New Paltz, Ulster County, New York, testified at Poughkeepsie on the 17th of 
pril, 1793, that, while on the sea in a merchant vessel, he was impressed on board the British vessel of war Peacock in 
!10. He was not allowed to write to his friends. When he and two other impressed American seamen heard of the 
3claration of war in 1812, they claimed to be considered prisoners of war, and refused to do duty any longer. They 
ere ordered to the quarter-dftck, put in irons for twenty-four hours, then taken to the gangway, stripped naked, "tied 
id whipped, each one dozen and a half lashes, and put to duty." When the Peacock went into action with the Hornet 
ley asked the captain to be sent below, that they might not fight against their countrymen. The captain called a mid- 
lipman and told him to " do his duty." That duty was to hold a pistol at the head of Thompson and threaten to blow 
is brains out if he and his companions did not do service. They were liberated on the capture of the Peacock by the 
^ornet. Another seaman from Ulster County, named James Tompkins, testified to greater cruelties inflicted on himself 
Qd three others, who were impressed on board the British ship Acteon in April, 1812. When they refused to do duty 
ley were whipped " five dozen lashes each." Two days afterward they received four dozen lashes each. They still 
ifused to do duty, and, after the lapse of another two days, they received two dozen lashes -each. They still refused, 
ad, after being whipped again, they were put in irons, where they were kept three months. On their arrival In London 
ley heard of the capture of the Guerriere. With a shirt and handkerchiefs they made stripes and stars for American 
jlors, hung it over a gun, and gave three cheers for the victory. For this outburst of patriotism they received two 
ozen lashes each. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 145 



Argament against Impressments. The British Government refuses to listens Its Proposition on the Subject rejected. 

tion of this testimony, yet many must perish unrelieved, and all are detained a con- 
siderable time in lawless and injurious confinement. It is the duty as well as a right 
of a friendly nation to require that measures be taken by the British government to 
prevent the continued repetition of such violence by its agents. . . . The mere release 
of the injured, after a long course of serving and sufiering, is no compensation for the 
past, and no security for the future. . . . The United States, therefore, require posi- 
tively that their seamen who are not British subjects, whether bom in America or 
elsewhere, shall be exempt from impressment. The case of British subjects, whether 
naturalized or not, is more questionable ; but the right even to impress' them is de- 
nied. . . . Alien seamen, not British subjects, engaged in our merchant service, ought 
to be equally exempt with citizens from impressments. We have a right to engage 
them, and have a right to and an interest in their persons to the extent of the service 
contracted to be performed. Britain has not a pretext of right to their persons or 
their service. To tear them, then, from our possession is at the same time an insult 
and an injury. It is an act of violence for which there exists no palliative." After 
alluding to the fact that the principles of the United States government would not 
allow retaliation by impressments from the British merchant ships, and suggesting 
that something in that way might be done by recruiting from that service, Mr. Mar- 
shall concludes by saying, " Is it not more advisable to desist from, and to take efr 
fectual measures to prevent an acknowledged wrong, than, by perseverance in that 
wrong, to excite against themselves the well-founded resentment of America, and 
force our government into measures which may possibly terminate in open rup- 
ture?"' 

These suggestions were all submitted to the British ministry, but without the 
slightest visible effect. While the war continued, the nefarious practice was carried 
on vigorously, but when the general pacification of Europe took place in 1801, and 
the Peace of Amiens gave a respite to British ships of war — when their seamen were 
in excess of the demand — impressments ceased, and the American minister in London, 
untaught by past experience and observation, wrote, " I am in hopes that Lord St. 
Vincent will be inclined to attend to our reiterated remonstrances against the im- 
pressment of our seamen and the vexations of our trade. "^ Vain expectation ! 

Earlv in the vear ISOC Mr. Liston, the British minister in the United . ^ ^ 

-f-r-»--i AT ' • n 1 ' IT February 4. 

States, submitted to President Adams a proposition tor the reciprocal de- 
livery of deserters, so worded as to sanction impressment on board oi private vessels, 
but to except " public ships of war." It was rejected. Pickering, the Secretary of 
State, said, " It appears utterly inadmissible, unless it would put an end to impress- 
ments."^ The Secretary of the Navy said, " It is better to have no article, and meet 
all consequences, than not to enumerate merchant vessels on the high seas among the 
things not to be entered in search of deserters."^ The Secretary of the Treasury ob- 
jected to it because it did not " provide against the impressment of American sea- 
men."* The Secretary of War objected to it on the same ground, saying, " If this 
article [the seventh in Mr. Liston's proposition] means what it is apprehended it does, 
it is utterly inadmissible."'^ The President and his Cabinet, thus planting themselves 
upon the broad principles of neutral rights and the sanctity of the national flag laid 
down at the beginning, would listen to nothing short of a recognition of those rights 
and of that sanctity.' 
When hostilities between Great Britain and France were revived in 1803, the im- 



1 Marshall to King, September 20, 1800. = Mr. King to the Secretary of State, February 23, 1801. 

3 Pickering to the President, February 20, 1800. * Benjamin Stoddert to the President, February 26, 1800. 

« Oliver Wolcott to the President, April 26, 1800. « James M'Henry to the President, April 16, 1800. 

' From June, 1T97, until the beginning of 1801, no less than 2059 applications for seamen impressed, including many 
made previonsly by Mr. King and Mr. Pinckney, were made. Of these, only 102 were British subjects— less than one 
twentieth of the whole impressed. Eleven hundred and forty-two were discharged as not being British subjects, and 
805 more than one half, were held for farther proof, while there ejdsted strong presumption that the whole, or a greater 
part, at least, were aliens. — Ltman's DipVrmtxcy of the United States, li., 15, note. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



i8 

octrine concerning Neatral Bights held by the United States and Great Britain. The latter a.raigped by Madl^ 

ress was again put into active operation. The American minister in London, Mr. 
[onroe, following up previous efforts made by Mr. King when that gentleman per- 
3ived that war was inevitable,i ^^ed every lawful endeavor to make a mutually sat- 
factory arrangement concerning it. In a letter of instructions to that mmister early 
in 1804/ Mr. Madison, then Secretary of State, ably and lucidly reviewed 
Januarys. ^^^ ^^^^^ subject of the impress and the rights of neutrals. His letter 
pened with the following clear enunciation of the doctrines of the .two nations: 

" We consider a neutral flag on the high seas as a safeguard to those sailing under 
:. Cheat Britain, on the contrary, asserts a right to search for and seize her own sub- 
ects ; and under that cover, as can not but hajppen, are often seized and taken offciti- 
ms of the United States, and citizens or subjects of other neutral countries navigating 
\e high seas under the protection of the American flag." 

After brief and cogent ai'gument, Mr. Madison said, " Were it allowable that Brit- 
ih subj€cts should be taken out of American vessels on the high seas, it might at 
sast be required that the proof of their allegiance should lie on the British side, 
'his obvious and just rule is, however, reversed. And any seaman on board, though 
oing from an American port, sailing under an American flag, and sometimes even 
peaking an idiom proving him not to be a British subject, is presumed to be such 
rdess proved to be an American citizen. It may be safely affirmed that this is an 
utrage which has no precedent, and which Great Britain would be, among the last 
ations in the world to suffer, if offered to her own subjects and her own flag.^ 
********** 

" Great Britain has the less to say on the subject, as it is in direct contradiction to 
lie principles on which she proceeds in other cases. While she claims and seizes on 
lie high seas her own subjects voluntarily serving in American vessels, she has con- 
tantly given, when she could give, as a reason for not discharging from her service 
Lmerican citizens, that' they had voluntarily engaged in it. Nay, more; while she 
mpresses her own subjects from the American service, although they have been set- 
led, and married, and naturalized in the United States, she constantly refuses to re- 
3ase from hers American seamen pressed into it whenever she can give for a reason 
hat they are either settled or married within her dominions. Thus, when the volun- 
ary consent of the individual favors her pretensions, she pleads the validity of that 
onsent. When the voluntary consent of the individual stands in the way of her 
retensions, it goes for nothing. When marriage or residence can be pleaded in her 
Ivor, she avails herself of the plea. When marriage, residence, and naturalization 
re against her, no respect whatever is paid to either. She takes by force her own 
ubjects voluntarily serving in our vessels. She keeps by force American citizens 
avoluntarily serving in hers. More flagrant inconsistencies can not be imagined." 

No arguments, no remonstrances, no appeals to justice or the demands of intema- 
ional comity, could induce the British government at that time, when waging war 
rith all its powers, to relinquish so great an advantage. 

1 In the spring of 1803 Mr. King made a determined effort to prevent a revival of the practice of impressment. On the 
th of May he submitted the following article to the British ministry: "No person shall be impressed or taken on the 
igh seas out of any ship or vessel belonging to the subjects or citizens of one of the parties by the public or private 
rmed ships or men-of-war belonging to or in the een'ice of the other party." Lord St, Vincent, the First Lord of the 
admiralty, and Lord Hawkesbury, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, at first assented to this article ; but, after 
onsultation with Sir William Scott, an exception was required in favor of the juirroio aeas. This proposal was rejected 
y Mr. King. It was regarded as a subterfuge. The government, at the opening of another war, was determined not 
5 relinquish the practice of impressments fi-om American vessels, and this revival of an obsolete claim of England to 
xclusive jurisdiction over the seas surrounding the British Isles as far south as Cape Finisterre and north to a point 
n the coast of Norway, which it was known the Americans would reject, was done as an excuse for terminating the ne- 
otiation on the practice of the impress. 

2 Cooper, in his Mval HisUn-y of the United States, ii., 84, says : "On the 12th of June [1805] No. 1 [gun-boat] fell in 
dth the fleet of Admiral CoUingwood off Cadiz, and, wliile Mr. Lawrence was on board one of the British ships, a boat 
ras sent .and took three men out of No. T, under the pretense that they were Englishmen. On his return to his own ves- 
el Mr. Lawrence hauled down his ensign, but no notice was taken of the proceeding by the British. It is a fitting com- 
lentary on this transaction that in the published letters of Lord CoUingwood, when he speaks of the impressment of 
imericans, he says that England would not submit to such an aggression for an hour." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 147 



National Independence and Ho nor imperiled. Memorials to Congress for decided Action. Hesitation of Congress. 

Day after day proofs were received of the sufferings of American citizens on ac- 
count of the impress ; and so flagrant and frequent were these outrages toward the 
close of 1805, that, in the memorials presented to Congress on the subject of British 
depredations upon American commerce, already alluded to, the impressment of Amer- 
ican seamen was a prominent topic. ^ 

Action in Congress on these subjects, so vital to the interests of the people and the 
dignity of the nation, was prompt. It was felt that a crisis was reached when the in- 
dependence of the United States must he vin'dicated, or the national honor he imper- 
iled. There was ample cause for most vigorous retaliatory measures toward Great 
Britain, ay, even for war. But the administration itself, and the host of its oppo- 
nents, were willing to bear a little longer than take the responsibility of an open rup- 
ture with Great Britain. A resolution offered in the United States Senate, declaring 
that the depredations upon American commerce under the sanction of the British 
government were " unprovoked aggressions upon the property of the citizens of the 
United States, violations of their neutral rights, and encroachments upon their na- 
tional independence," was adopted by unanimous vote f but when, four . February 10, 
days afterward," another resolution was offered requesting the President i^"^- 

to " demand the restoration of the property of those citizens captured and ' ^®^™*'^ "■ 
condemned on the pretext of its being employed in a trade with the enemies of Great 
Britain, indemnification for past losses, and some arrangement concerning the impress- 
ment of seamen," there was hesitation. To obtain the redress sought, there were 
only four modes — namely, negotiation, non-intercourse, embargo, and war. Thf first 
had been tried in vain ; the second and third would be menacing and offensive ; and 
the fourth, all parties at that time deprecated. There was a division in the vote. 
There was unanimity in denunciation, but differences when the test of positive action 
was applied. There were twenty votes in the affirmative, and six in the negative. 

It was resolved to try negotiations once more. William Pinkney,^ of Maryland, 
who had considerable diplomatic experience, was finally appointed a minister ^ 
extraordinary to England," to become associated with Monroe, the resident 

1 " The impressment of onr seamen, notwithstanding clear proofs of citizenship, the violation of onr jurisdiction by 
captures at the months of our harbors,* and insulting treatment of our ships on the ocean, are subjects worthy the se- 
rious consideration of our national councils.'* — SaUrei Memorial. 

"The constancy and valor of the seamen of the United States are justly themes of patriotic exultation. From their 
connection with us, we consider their cause as our cause, their rights as our rights, their interests as our interests. Our 
feelings are indignant at the recital of their wrongs."— .^eio york Memorial, signed by Johii Jacob Astor and others. 

" That our seamen shonld be exposed to meanest insults and most wanton cruelties, and the fruits of their industry 
and enterprise fall a prey to the profligate, can not but excite both feeling and indignation, and call loudly for the aid 
and protection of government." — PhUadelphia Memorial. The New Haven and Baltimore memorials expressed similar 
sentiments. 

' William Plntaey was bom at Annapolis, Maryland, on the ITth of March, 1764. His father was a Loyalist, but Wil- 
liam, as he approached manhood, toward the close of the Revolution, espoused the cause of his country. At the age of 
twenty-two years he was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of his profession in Harford County, Mary- 
land, where he married the sister of (afterward) Commodore Eodgers. He was a member of the Executive Council of 
Maryland in 1792, and in 1795 was chosen to the Legislature. The next year he was appointed one of the commissioners 
under the provisions of Jay's treaty, and proceeded to England. He remained there until 1805, when he returned, and 
made Baltimore his residence. He was distinguished for his legal learning and eloquence, and was immediately ap- 
pointed Attorney General of Maryland. He was sent to England for the object mentioned in the text, in 1806, where he 
remained until 1811, when he returned home. He fought bravely in the battle near Bladensburg in 1814, and was soon 
afterward elected to Congress. In 1816 he was appointed minister to Bussia. He remained there until 1820, when he 
returned, and was chosen to a seat in the Senate of the United States. In that body, and in the United States Courts, he 
labored intensely until 1821, when his health suddenly gave way. He died on the 25th of February, 1822, in the fifty- 
ninth year of his age. 

* This had been done repeatedly. The American waters were almost continually plowed by British cruisers at this 
time. A few weeks later an event occurred which aroused the greatest indignation throughout the country. A small 
coasting vessel, navigated by Captain John Pearce, of New Tork, running for Sandy Hook, was flred into by the British 
cruiser Leander, Captain Whitby. Captain Pearce was killed. It was, morally, a gross act of piracy. The act itself called 
forth bitter denunciations at a meeting held at the Tontine Coffee-house, in New Tork, on the following day (April 26, 
1806). A resolution proposed by a committee, of which Euftis King, late minister to England, was chairman, declared 
that an administration that would suffer foreign armed ships to " impress, wound, and murder citizens" was."not en- 
titled to the confidence of a brave and free people." ' The public indignation was increased when it became known that 
Captain Whitby, who was brought to trial in England for the murder of Captain Pearce, and his guilt fairly proven by 
evidence dispatched thither by the United States government, was lumoraUy acquitted ! 



148 



PICTOEIAL riELD-BOOK 



Minister Extraordinary sent to England. The old Party Lines again established. War and Anti-war Parties. 

minister, in negotiating a treaty that should 
settle all disputes between the two govern- 
ments. It was thought expedient, at the 
same time, to use the second method pro's' 
pectiyely, as an auxiliary to the American 
miaisters, for it would appeal potentially to 
the commercial interest of Great Britain, 
then, as ever, the ruling power in the state. 
Accordingly, after long and earnest debates, 
the House of Representatives passed an 
act" prohibiting the importation anarch as 
into the United States of a great i^oe. 
variety of the most important manufactures 
of Great Britain. It passed the Senate on 
the 16th of AprU, and on the 18th became 
a law.i To give time for the negotiations, 
the commencement of the prohibition was 
postponed until the middle of the following, 
November. 

In the debate upon the Non-importation 
Act in Congress, and in its discussion among 
the people, the old party lines, which, to 
some extent, had appeared faint when great 
national questions were fairly discussed, 
became perfectly distinct. The measure 
ivas regarded by the jealous opponents of Jefferson and his Cabinet as a display of 
;hat hostility to Great Britain because of love for France, which the President and 
lis Secretary had so frequently manifested during the administrations of "Washington 
md Adams. It was regarded as a measure calculated to lead the country into a war 
vith Great Britain. The administration party, on the contrary, charged the Peder- 
ilists, because they were unwilling to support the measure, with being friendly to 
-heir country's oppressor. The old political war-cries were sounded, and " French 
)arty" and " British party" became familiar words again on the lips of partisans. 
The Federalists affected to regard Great Britain in her wars with France, and espe- 
lially in the current one with Napoleon, as the champion of the liberties of the world 
igainst an audacious aspirant for universal empire ; while the Democrats affected to 
lonsider the Emperor of the French as a great regenerator, who was destined to bene- 
tt the world by prostratmg tottering thrones, effaomg corrupt dynasties, purifying the 
lohtical atmosphere of Europe, and giving new life and vigor to the people. Such 
rere the antagonistic ideas then distinctly developed. The Non-importation Act 
ras passed by a strictly party vote— ninety-three Democrats, against thirty-two Fed- 
rahsts and " Quids," as John Randolph and his six secessionists were called. The 
leat of that debate in the first session of the Ninth Congress developed the germ of 
he War and Anti-war parties, so strong and implacable just previous to and durine 
he War of 1812. 




1 The following is a list of articles prohibited : All articles of which leather, silk, hemp or flax and tin and brass ftin 

leets excepted) were the materials of chief value ; woolen cloths whose invoice prices sLuldelc^d five ^ 

ng a yard ; woolen hosiery of all kinds ; window-glass, and all the mannfactnres of glass ; silvSTnd nfated wafe m 

rXrterarp^LirrdS^' '"'''^■'^"'"^"'^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 149 



Hopes created by a new Britieli Ministry. Disappointment. Negotiations reopened. Charles James Fox. 




CHAPTER Vm.. 

" You all remember well, I gness, 
The Chesapeake disaster, 
When Britons dared to kill and press. 
To please their royal master." 

Song — ^BonoEBS abd Viotoet; 

" Prom the deep we withdraw till the tempest he past. 
Till our flag can protect each American cargo ; 
While British ambition's dominion shall last, 
Let us join, heart and hand, to support the Eubabgo : 
For Embaboo and Peace 
Will promote our increase ; 
Then embargoed we'll live till Injustice shall cease : 
For ne'er, till old Ocean retires from his bed, 
Will Columbia by Europe's prond tyrants he led." 

SoHd — Embabso and Feaoe. 

HILE the debate on the Non-importation Act»was at its height 
in Congress, intelligence came of a change in the British minis- 
try that promised a speedy adjustment of all matters in dis- 
pute between the two countries. William Pitt died in Janua- 
ry," and at the beginning of February a new Cabi- . January 23, 
net was formed, known in English history as " All- ^^''^• 

the-talents Ministry," of which the peaceful, humane, and lib- 
eral Charles James Fox was the most influential member,^ as 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 

' Under the impression that the new ministry would be more ready to act justly to- 
ward the Americans than the old one, Mr. Pinkney sailed for England. He was soon 
undeceived. England's policy in the conduct of the tremendous war in which she 
was engaged was too firmly established to be disturbed by the private opinions and 
wishes of individuals, and Mr. Fox appears to have imbibed the views of his prede- 
cessors in office concerning the complaints of the Americans on the subject of the 
impress and neutral rights. 

Before Pinkney's amval Fox had expressed to Monroe some sensibility at the 
passage of the Non-importation Act. He declared that it embarrassed him, because 
it would place him in the position of treating under seeming compulsion. Monroe 
gave a satisfactory explanation, and, on the arrival of Pinkney, Lords Holland and 
Auckland were appointed to negotiate with the American envoys. 

The negotiations commenced in August.* As the American commis- .^^g^j^ 
sioners were instructed to make no treaty which did not secure the vessels 
of their countrymen on the high seas against visitations from press-gangs, this topic 
naturally occupied the early and earnest attention of the negotiators. The American 
commissioners, under instructions, contended that the right of impressment existing 
by municipal law could not be exercised out of the jurisdiction of Great Britain, and, 
consequently, upon the high s eas. In reply, the British commissioners recited the old 

1 wnv anrl Bnrke stood side by side in the opposition to LordNorth in the long struggle before and during the Amer- 
ican EevSn He was ily^ on the liberal ^^^^ 

At one time at the close of the Kevolution, the nation appeared to be divided Into parties, one known as the king's, and 
fv.» „fh»r 0= TTmr's On One occasion Dr. Johnson said, "Fox is an extraordinary man ; here is a man who has divided 
1 kinXr^ft cJ° so that it was a doubt which the nation should be ruled by-the sceptre of George IIX or the 
ton^TofFS •' He vJas always an advocate for a peace policy, and his accession to power m 1806 gave the thinking 
™»f!!f ^ Jland hones of a cessation of the wasting war with the all-conquering Napoleon. To that end he labored, 
Td had well^igh accomplished measures for pacification when, on the 13th of September. 1806, he died. 



PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 



agrees and Character of Negotiations. A Treaty agreed to. The Berlin Decree considered. 

)Ctrine that no subject of the king could expatriate himself— " once an Englishman, 
ways an Englishman"— and argued that to give up that right would make every 
merican vessel an asylum for British seamen wishing to evade their country's serv- 
B, and even for deserters from British ships of war. They were sustained in this 
e'w by the law officers of the crown and the Board of Admiralty, and would not 
eld the point. Here the American commissioners might have terminated the nego- 
ition, because the vital object of their appointment could not be obtained. 
At length this impressment question was placed in an attitude to allow negotiations 
3on other topics to go on. While the British commissioners declared that their gov- 
nment would not relinquish by formal treaty the right of impressment on the high 
as, they agreed that special instructions should be given and enforced for the ob- 
rvance of great caution against subjecting any American-bom citizens to molesta- 
on or injury. They gave the American commissioners to understand, although it 
as not expressed in terms, that the intention of the British government was not to 
low impressments from American vessels on the high seas except under extraordi- 
iry circumstances, such as having on board known deserters from the British navy, 
November 8 ^^^ ^^^^ gradually to abandon the practice. This proposition was put m 

1806. ' "vpriting," and the negotiations on other topics proceeded. 
The terms of a treaty considered in many respects more favorable to the Americans 
lan that of Jay ip 1'794, to continue for ten years, were soon agreed to. The trade 
3tween the United States and the European possessions of Great Britain were placed 
1 a footing of perfect reciprocity, but no concessions could be obtained as to the 
•ade of the West Indies ; while in the matter of the East India trade terms as favor- 
ale to the Americans as those of Jay's would not be granted. The provisions in 
lat treaty concerning blockades and contraband were adopted, with an additional 
rovision that no American vessels were to be visited or seized within five miles of 
le coast of the United States. 

In regard to the carrying-trade, in which American vessels were so largely con- 
jrned, the modification of the " rule of 1756" (stipulated in the treaty with Russia in 
301, already alluded toy was agreed to, but to operate only during the current war, 
y which such vessels could transport to any belligerent colony not blockaded by a 
ritish force, any European goods not contraband of war, providing such goods were 
.merican property, and the continuity of the voyage had been broken by their hav- 
ig been previously landed in the United States, and a duty paid of at least one per 
3nt. above the amount drawn back on re-exportation. In like manner the produce 
f the colony might be carried back, and taken into any port in Europe not block- 
led. 

At this point in the negotiation, intelligence of the issue of the Berlin Decree,^ which 
'e shall consider presently, reached the commissioners. It produced hesitation on 
le part of the British negotiators. They required assurances that the United States 
'ould not allow their trade with Great Britain, and in British merchandise, to be in- 
jrrupted and interfered with by France without taking measures to resent it. This 
ssurance the American commissioners refused to give, as they were not inclined to 
ledge their government to quarrel with France for the benefit of English trade. 
[oUand and Auckland waived the point and signed the treaty, at the same time pre- 
3nting a written protest against the Berlin Decree, reserving to the British govem- 
lent the right, should that decree be actually carried into force as against neutrals, 
nd be submitted to by them, to take such measures of retaliation as might be deem- 
d expedient. 

Had this treaty not been based in a degree upon contingencies and promises, leav- 
ig American commence still, in the absence of positive treaty stipulations, at the 



1 See note 2, page 138. = See page 129. 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 151 



Treaty withheld from the Senate. War on the Administration. Blockade of the European Coast declared. 

mercy of British policy, it might have heen considered so advantageous to the mer- 
chants of the United States, being an advance in the right direction, as to have re- 
ceived the favor of the administration. But it was too loose in its actual guarantees, 
and the experience of the past was too admonitory to allow such a treaty to be ac- 
cepted as a satisfactory settlement of difficulties between the two governments. It 
also failed to secure the most vital advantages contemplated in the appointment of 
the commission, namely, the abolition of the impress from American vessels and te- 
linquishment on the part of Great Britain of its claims to a right of search. Such 
being its character, the President, at the risk of being charged with usurpation, did 
not even lay the treaty before tjie Senate, but, on his own responsibility, seconded by 
the co-operation of Mr. Madison, his Secretary of State, he refused to ratify it. That 
refusal destroyed' all hope of negotiating another treaty so favorable to the Amer- 
icans, for, long before it reached the British government in official form, the Pox and 
Grenville ministry had disappeared. It had been superseded" by one in which . March, 
Liverpool, Percival, and Canning, all disciples of the more warlike Pitt, were i^'"'- 
the leading spirits. The remains of Fox had lain in Westminster Abbey six months 
when this change in the administration took place.' 

As might have been expected, Jeffisrson was vehemently assailed by the opposi- 
tion ; and the merchants, as a class, misled by the deceptive clamor of politicians, 
swelled the voice of denunciation. The Federalists, ever suspicious of the President, 
their arch-enemy in former crises of the government, charged him with insincerity 
when he protested his earnest desire for an honorable adjustment with England ; and 
they wei-e inclined to regard the rejection of the treaty as a deliberate manoeuvre to 
cherish popular passion, and thus to strengthen the party hold of the President and 
his destined successor, Mr. Madison.^ 

The war against the administration was waged unrelentingly. Another great 
struggle between the Democrats and Federalists for the prize of the Presidency and 
national rule now commenced, and some leading men of the opposition who, when in 
power, had bitterly denounced the course of the British government because of its 
course on the impress and neutral rights, now became either silent spectators or vir- 
tual apologists for England. Yet the Democratic party steadily gained in numbers 
and influence even in New England, and the war feeling became more and more in- 
tense and positive among the people. 

We have already alluded to the seizure of Hanover by the Prussians at the insti- 
gation of Napoleon.^ This offense against the Crown of England was immediately 
resented ; or, rather, it was made the pretext for einploying against France a measure 
which, as in 1756 and 1V92, was calculated to starve the empire. By orders in Coun- 
cil, issued on the 16th of May, 1806, the whole coast of Europe from the Elbe, in Ger- 
many, to Brest, in France, a distance of about eight hundred miles, was declared in a 
state of blockade, when, at the same time, the British navy could not spare from its 
other fields of service vessels enough to enforce the blockade over a third of the pre- 
scribed coast. It was essentially a " paper blockade," then valid according to En- 
glish " laws of nations" — laws of her own enactment, and enforced by her own mate- 
rial power. The almost entire destruction of the French and Spanish fleets off Tra- 
falgar, a few months before,'' had annihilated her rivals for the sovereign- b octoher 21, 
ty of the seas, and she now resolved to control the trade of the world, by i^"'- 
which she might procure pecuniary means to carry on the war. 

The British orders in Council somewhat startled American commerce, and by 
some was considered, so far as that commerce was concerned, as not only a counter- 
vailing measure in view of the Non-importation Act of the American Congress, but a 
positively belligerent one. But its effects were slight in comparison with the pros- 

, ' See page 128. 
a Hildreth's History of the United States, Second Series, li., 663. 3 See page 128. 



PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 



e Berlin Decree. The " Continental System." Americans the only Neutrals. Their Expectations. 

ating blow inflicted upon the American shipping interest when, from the " Imperial 
imp at Berlin" on the 21st of November, 1806, Napoleon issued the famous decree 
liich declared the British Islands in a state of blockade, forbade all correspondence 

trade with England, defined all articles of English manufacture or produce as con- 
aband, and the property of all British subjects as lawful prize of war. ^ 
Resting for moral support upon England's cherished " law of nations," Napoleon 
ade this declaration of a practically universal blockade when he had scarcely a ship 
his command to enforce it ; for Lord Nelson, as we have just observed, had almost 
ictober 21, demolished the whole French and part of the Spanish fleet ofi" Trafalgar 

1805. jyst thirteen months before.'' 

On land the power of Napoleon was scarcely bounded by any river in Europe, 
"ithin his grasp was seemingly the sceptre of universal empire, of which he dreamed 
Lth the ambition of an Alexander. State after state had been added to his domin- 
is, and brother after brothef had been placed upon thrones of his own construction, 
lid the ruins of old dynasties. He now endeavored, by the practice of England's 
^ic, to dispute with her in a peculiar way the sceptre of the seas.^ 
This was the beginning of what was afterward called the Continental System, com- 
moed avowedly as a retaliatory measure, and designed primarily to injure and, if 
ssible, to destroy the commercial prosperity of England. ^ Napoleon adhered to it 
• several years as a favorite scheme, to the delight and profit of smugglers created 

the system, and the immense injury of the commerce of the world. He compelled 
)st of the states of Europe to become partners in the league against Great Britain, 
refusal to join it was considered a just cause for war. Yet England, with such 
wers against her, and such an injurious system impinging heavily upon her mari- 
ae and trading interests, defied Napoleon and his allies, and exhibited a moral and 
iterial energy which commands our wonder and highest respect. 
America was at this time really the only neutral in the civilized world. Her iso- 
ion enabled her to maintain that position, and enjoy prosperity while Europe was 
lonant with the din of battle, clouded with the smoke of camps and ruined towns, 
i wasted by the terrible demands of moving armies. But her security and pros- 
pity were likely to be disturbed by this unrighteous decree from the "Imperial 
mp." It was so broad in its application, that it would be equally injurious to neu- 
,1s and belligerents. The commercial world perceived this with its keen eye, and 
aerican commerce was convulsed by a thrill of apprehension. Rates of insurance 
I up to ruinous heights at the beginning of 180V, and commercial enterprises of 
3ry kind were suspended. 

rhis panic was somewhat allayed by a letter from John Armstrong, American min- 
3r at Paris, who believed the operations of the decree .would be only municipal, 
i was assured by the French Minister of Marine that the existing commercial re- 
ions of the United States and the French Empire, as settled by the Convention of 
)0,3 would not be disturbed.* This assurance was subsequently strengthened by 
! fact that the decree was not enforced against American vessels until about a year 
Brward,* Napoleon doubtless hoping the United States, growing every day more 
1 more hostile toward England because of her injustice, would be induced to join 
! league against that power. The Americans were also taught to rely upon the 
ditional policy of France concerning the rights of neutrals, so plainly avowed in 
: Armed Neutrality T reaty in 1780, earnestly proclaimed ever since by the French 

3ee note 1, page 13*>, 

STapoleon at this time had been compelled to abandon Ms schemes for the invasion of England. He had lost St Tin 

p, and a 1 prestige in the West Indies, and had no means of amioying his most potent enemy, on the sea 

>ee twelfth and fourteenth articles of that Convention in Statemian's Momual, iv., 342, 343 

Jn the 10th of December, Minister Armstrong asked for an explanation of the Berlin Decree. Monsieur Decres the 

ister of Manne, rephed on the 24th that he considered the decree as in no way modifying 'Hh™ Tations at n^es 

'with the' uStTd's^Tt^s Tf" ' ■ "'.^"^'" ""^S"'""' ""• """^"Ife^tly. of the Conve^Jion of the 30th oSe». 
, with the United States of America." s Baring's Inquiry, etc., page 116, cited in note 1, page 129 



OF THE WAR OK 1812. 153 



Change in the Policy of the French. Seizure of American Ships. British Orders in Council. 

■ — — « 

rulers, and reiterated in the charges against England in the preamble to the famous 
decree under consideration. 

The promises of security to American commerce from the operations of the Berlin 
Decree were soon broken. The powers of that decree were put forth in the autumn 
of 1807. The Peace of Tilsit' had released a large number of French soldiers from 
duties in the camp and field, and these were employed at various ports along the 
coasts of Europe in strictly enforcing the blockade and putting the Continental Sys- 
tem into active operation. Even American commerce did not remain undisturbed ; 
on the contrary, it was directly threatened by a decision of Regnier, the French Min- 
ter of Justice, -who declared that all merchandise derived from England and her colo- 
nies, by whomsoever owned, was liable to seizure even on board neutral vessels.^ As 
Americans were then the only neutrals, this decision was aimed directly at them, 
with the intention, no doubt, of forcing the United States into; at. least a passive co- 
operation with Bonaparte in his deadly designs against British commerce and the 
liberties of that people. When Minister Armstrong made inquiries concerning this 
interpretation of the Berlin' Decree, Champagny, the French Minister for Foreign Af- 
fairs, coolly replied that the principal powers of Europe for eleven months had not 
, only not issued any protest against the decree, but had agreed to enforce it, and that 
to make it effectual its execution must be complete. He disposed of the treaty obli- 
gations in the matter by saying that, since England had disregarded the rights of all 
maritime powers, the interests of those powers were common, and they were bound 
to make common cause against her;^ that is to say, any nation that would not join 
Napoleon in enforcing his iniquitous Continental System, ostensibly against England, 
but really against the commerce of the world, forfeited its claim to have its treaty 
stipulations regarded ! This doctrine was speedily followed up by practice, when 
the American ship Horizon, stranded upon the French coast, was, with her cargo, ua 
violation of every principle of humanity, confiscated in the French prize court, acting 
under Eegnier's decision,'' on the ground that that cargo consisted of . November 10, 
merchandise of British origin. This decision and confiscation became a ^^*'^- 

precedent for the speedy seizure and sequestration of a large amount of American 
property. 

Almost simultaneously with this practical illustration of Regnier's interpretation 
of the Berlin Decree in the case of the Horizon}' Great Britain made a , „ , ,„ 

. ^ ' " November 10. 

more destructive assault on the rights 01 neutrals than any yet attempt- 
ed by either party. By orders in council, adopted on the 11th and promulgated 
on the lYth of November, all neutral trade was prohibited with France or her allies 
unless through Great Britain.* This avowed measure of retaliation for the issue of 

1 This was a treaty of peace concluded between France and Eussia on the Tth of June, 1807, when Napoleon restored 
to the Prussian monarch one half of his territories, and Russia recognized the Confederation of the Ehine, and the eleva- 
tion of Napoleon's three brothers, Joseph, Louis, and Jerome, to the thrones respectively of Naples, Holland, and West- 
phalia. 

2 Letter to the Imperial Attorney General for the Council of Prizes, September 18, 180T. ' 

2 " AH the difficultiea which have given rise to your reclamations," said Champagny to Armstrong, "would be removed 
with ease if the government of the United States, after complaining in vain of the injustice and violations of England, 
took, with the whole Continent, the part of guaranteeing itself therefrom. England has introduced into the maritime 
war an entire disregard for the rights of nations : it is only in forcing her to a peace that it is possible to recover them. 
On this point the interest of all nations is the same. All have their honor and independence to defend."— Ltman'b 
Diplmnaey of the United States, i., 411. 

This was all very true, but the terms on which the United States were invited to join that Continental league were 
entirely inconsistent with their principles concerning blockades— principles identical with those of the Armed Neutral- 
ity of 17S0. The Berlin Decree asserted principles the very reverse of these, and in an extreme degree— principles 
against which the Americans had ever protested— principles which the French minister, only a year before^ had pro- 
nounced *' monstrous and indefensible." 

4 Mr. Baring, in his able Inquiry^ into the Causes and Comegmnces of the Orders in CouneU, gives the followmg analysis 
of the extremely lengthy document : 

"All trade directly from America to every port and country of Europe at war with Great Britain, or fi-om which the 
British flag is excluded, is totally prohibited. In this general prohibition every part of Europe, with the exception at 
present of Sardinia, is included, and no distinction whatever is made between the domestic produce of America and 
that of the colonies re-exported from thence. 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



ipoleon's Milan Decree. Its Effects on American Commerce. British CmieerB in American Waters. 

le Berlin Decree was only a pretext for pampering the greed of the British colonial 
erchants and ship-owners. As the Americans were the only neutrals, it was a di- 
et blow against their commerce, of which, for fen years, the British had been ex- 
ledingly jealous. The effect was to deprive American vessels of all the advantages 

■ neutrality. 

In retaliation for the issuing of these orders, Bonaparte promulgated another de- 
•ee, dated "At our Palace at Milan, December 17, 1807," which extended and made 
ore vigorous that issued from Berlin. It declared every vessel which should sub- 
it to be searched by British cruisers, or should pay any tax, duty, or license-money 
I the British government, or should be found on the high seas or elsewhere bound 
> or from any British port, denationalized and forfeit.^ "With their usual servility 
I the dictates of the conqueror, Spain and Holland immediately issued similar de- 
•ees. Thus, within a few months, the commerce of the United States, carried on in 
rict accordance with the acknowledged laws of civilized nations, was swept from 
le ocean. Utterly unable, by any power it then possessed, to resist the robbers upon 
le great highway of nations, the independence of the republic had no actual record, 
had been theoretically declared on parchment a quarter of a century before, but 
le nation and its interests were now as much subservient to British orders in coun- 
I and French imperial decrees as when George the Third sent governors to the col- 
lies of which it was composed, and Beaumarchais, in behalf of Louis the Sixteenth, 
ipplied their feeble, rebellious hands with weapons wherewith to fight for liberty 
id independence. 

While the commerce of the world was thus becoming the sport of France and En- 
and — traditionary enemies and implacable duelists for a thousand years — unscru- 
ilous gamesters for power — an event occurred which excited in the United States 
le most intense animosity toward Great Britain, and created a powerful war party 
nong legislators and people. 

To give eificieney to the Orders in Council, the British government kept a naval 
rce continually hovering along the American coast. They frequently intruded into 
merican waters, and were a great vexation and annoyance to navigators and mer- 
lants. They were regarded as legalized plunderers employed by a strong nation to 
jspoil a weaker one.^ Every American vessel was liable, on leaving port, to be ar- 
sted and seized by this marine police, sometimes under the most untenable pretexts, 
id sent to England as a prize. The experience of the Leander, already mentioned 
ee page 147), was the experience of hundreds of vessels, excepting the murder of 
leir commanders ; and, as we have seen, remonstrances and negotiations were of no 
rail. A crisis was at length reached in the summer of 1807. 

'The trade from America to the colonies of all nations remains unaltered by the present orders. America may ex- 
irt the produce of her own country, but that of no other, directly to Sweden. 

"With the above exception, all articles, whether of domestic or colonial produce, exported by America to Enrope, 
1st be landed in this country [England], from whence it is intended tp permit their re-exportation under such regnla- 
ns as may hereafter be determined. 

'By these regulations it is understood that duties are to be imposed on all articles so re-exported ; but it is intimated 
it an exception willbemadein favor of such as are the produce of the United States, that of cotton excepted. 
'Any vessel the cargo whereof shall be accompanied with certificates of French consuls abroad of its origin, shall, 
3;ether with the cargo, be liable to seizure and confiscation. 

" Proper care shall be taken that the operation of the orders shall not commence until time is afforded for their being 
lown to the parties interested." — See Tfiquiry, etc., page 15. 

When introducing this analysis of the orders of the 11th of November, Mr. Baring remarks that " they are so much 
veloped in official jargon as to be bardly intelligible out of Doctors' Commons, and not perfectly so there." In a note 
says, " I beg to disclaim any intention to expound the titnal text s it seems purposely intended that no person should 
ofane it with his comprehension without paying two guineas for an opinion, with an additional benefit of being able 
obtain one directly opposed to it for two more." 

I "These measures," said the fourth article of the Milan Decree, "which are resorted to only in just retaliation of the 
rbarous system adopted by England, which assimilates in its legislation to that of Algiers, shall cease to have any 
tect with respect to all nations who shall have the firmness to compel the English government to respect their flag." 
declared that the provisions of the present decree should be null as soon as England should " abide again by the 
inciples of the law of nations which regulate the relations of civilized states in a state of war." 
! Privateers with French commissions were guilty of depredations upon American commerce, but the occasions were 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 155 



Keorganization of the Naval Service. The " Guu-boat Policy." Deserters from British Ships. 

Notwithstanding the many depredations upon American commerce and the in- 
creasing menaces of the belligerents in Europe, very little had been done to increase 
the efficiency of the navy of the United States since its reduction at the close of the 
war with the Barbary States. The squadron in the Mediterranean had been gradu- 
ally reduced, but several small vessels had been built. Two of these, the ship Wasp, 
18, and brig Hornet, 18, constructed after French models, and ranking as sloops-of- 
war, were beautiful, stanch, and fast-sailing craft. 

In the spring of 1806 the naval service was reorg/anized,' yet nothing of great im- 
portance was contemplated to increase its material strength excepting the construc- 
tion of gun-boats.2 The President had imbibed very strong prejudices in favor of 
these vessels. A flotilla of them, obtained from Naples, had been used efiectively in 
the war with Tripoli in 1804, and they were favorites in the service because they af- 
forded commands for enterprising young officers. A few were built in the United 
States in 1805, their chief contemplated use being the defense and protection of har- 
bors and rivers. Then was inaugurated the " gun-boat policy" of the government, so 
much discussed for three or four years afterward. 

Toward the close of 1806 the President officially announced that the gun-boats (fifty 
in number) " authorized by an act of the last session" were so far advanced that they 
might be put in commission the following season. ^ Yet only in the Mediterranean 
Sea was there a foreign station of the navy of the United States where an American 
cruiser might be seen at the beginning of 1807, notwithstanding American merchant 
vessels to the amount of 1,200,000 tons were afloat. Nor was there a home squadron 
worthy of the name ; while British and French cruisers were swarming on our coasts, 
and British orders and French decrees were wielding the besom of destruction against 
our commerce. 

In the spring of 1807 a squadron of British ships of war, whose rendezvous was 
Lynnhaven Bay,* just within Cape Henry, in Virginia, were watching some French 
frigates which had been for some time blockaded at Annapolis, in Maryland. One 
of the British vessels was the Melampus, 38. Three of her men deserted, and enlisted 
among the crew of the United States frigate Ghesg/peake, then being fitted for sea at 
the navy yard at Washington to join the Mediterranean squadron. Mr. Erskine, the 
British minister, who had been sent to Washington by Fox to supersede Merry, the 
successor of Listen, made a formal request of the President for their surrender, but 
without any warrant found in the laws of nations, or in any agreement between the 
two governments. A proposition to deliver up British deserters had been made by 
Monroe and Pinkney during the late negotiations, as an inducement for the British 
to abandon the practice of impressment, but nothing on that point had been accom- 
plished. 

The United States government, willing to be just, and anxious for honorable peace, 
instituted inquiries concerning the deserters. They were actually enlisted for service 

1 By an act of Congress in April, 1806, the President was authorized to employ as many of the public vessels as he 
might deem necessary, but limiting the number of ofBcers and seamen. The list of captains was increased by the act to 
thirteen, that of the masters and commanders to 'nine, and that of the lieutenants to seventy-two. In consequence of 
deaths and resignations there were many promotions, and sixty-nine midshipmen were raised to the rank of lieutenant. 

The names of the captains under the new law were as follows : Samuel Nicholson, Alexander Murray, Samuel Barron, 
John Bodgers, Edward Preble, James Barron, William Bainbridge, Hugh G. Campljell, Stephen Decatur, Thomas Tin- 
gey, Charles Stewart, Isaac Hull, John Shaw, and Isaac Chauncey. Of these Commodore Stewart is now (1867) the only 
survivor. 

The names of the masters and commanders were as follows: John Smith, George Cox, John H. Dent, Thomas Eobin- 
son, David Porter, John Carson, Samuel Evans, and Charles Gordon. Not one survives. 

! The act of Congress for " fortifying the Ports and Harbors of the United States and for building Gun-boats" was ap- 
proved on the 21st of April, 1806. It provided for the construction of fifty gun-boats. 

3 Annual message, December 2, 1806.— See Statesman's Manual, i., 282. 

4 Here the French fleet under the Count de Qrasse lay early in September, 1T81, when the English fleet under Admiral 
Graves appeared off Cape Charles, entering the Chesapeake Bay. The French prepared for conflict, and put to sea. The 
British bore down upon them, and on the afternoo^of the 5th of September a partial action took place. The two fleets 
were within sight of each other for five consecutive days, but had no other engagement. For an account of these events 
and a diagram, see Lossing's Fieli-iooh of the Revolution, 11., 306, latest edition. 



56 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK' 




LYMNHATEN BAY. 



le Deserters American Ci tuens. Their Surrender refased. The CImapmke watched by a British Squadron. 

on board the Chesa- 
peake ; but it was es- 
tablished by compe- 
tent testimony that 
one was a native of 
the Eastern Shore of 
Maryland, that anoth- 
er was a colored man 
and a native of Mas- 
sachusetts, and in the 
case of the third there 
was strong circum- 
stantial evidence of 
his being a native- 
bom citizen of Mary- 
land.i Under these 
circumstances, as the 
claims of British citi- 
zenship could not be 
established, and as the 
government was not 
isposed to surrender any seamen who claimed its protection, a refusal in respectfal 
irms was communicated to Mr. Erskine. No more was said upon the subject; but 
appears to have stimulated Vice-Admiral Berkeley, on the Halifax station, under 
'hose command was the squadron in Lynnhaven Bay, to the assumption of authority 
'hich led to much trouble. 

At about the beginning of June the Chesapeake sailed from Washington, to Nor- 
)lk, and on the 19th she was reported to Commodore James Barron, the appointed 
ag-officer of the Mediterranean squadron, as ready for sea. She dropped down to 
[ampton Roads, and on the morning of the 22d of June — a bright, beautLfiil, hot 
loming — at about eight o'clock, she weighed anchor, under the command of Captain 
rordon, and bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Barron. She was armed with 
iventy-eight 18-pounders on her gun-deck, and twelve carronades^ above, making a 
)tal of forty guns. She was a vessel of ordinary character, and bore a crew num- 
ering three hundred and seventy-five. 

On the evening of the 21st,* the British squadron in Lynnhaven B&y, 
charged with the double duty, it seems, of watching the French frigates 
nd the Chesapeake, consisted of the Bdlona, li ; the Mdampits, 38 ; the Leopard, 
; and another whose name was not mentioned. The Leopard, Captain Humphreys, 
ras charged with the duty of intercepting the Chesapeake. She was a small two- 
ecker, and is said to have mounted fifty-six guns. She preceded the Chesapeake to 
3a several miles, her sails bent by a gentle northwest breeze. 
The Leopard kept in sight of the Chesapeake until three o'clock in the afternoon, 
rhen the former bore down upon the latter and hailed, informing Commodore Barron 
biat she had a dispatch for him. The Chesapeake responded by lying-to, when some 
f her ofiicers discovered that the Leopard'' s ports were triced up — an evidence of 
elligerent intent — but they did not mention the fact to Captain Gordon or the com- 

1 The names of the deserters were William Ware, who had been pressed il'om an American vessel on board the Jfe- 
mvpnm in the Bay of Biscay j Daniel Martin, colored, pressed at the same time and place ;> and John Strachan, pressed 
a board the same vessel from an English Gnineaman off Cape Finisterre. Ware and Strachan had protections^ but 
[artin had lost his.— See Commodore Barron's Letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated April 2, 180T. It is proper to 
;ate that Mr. Hamilton, the British consul at Norfolk, made repeated official demands for these three seamen and an- 
ther, and was as often refused by the officers of the Cliesapeake, acting under government orders. 
= A carronade is a short piece of ordnance, having a large calibre, and a chamber for the powder like a mortar. It de- 
ves its name ftom Carron, in Scotland, where it was first made. — Webster. 



Tune, 

L80T. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 157 



The Chesapeake hosaiei. The Demand for the Deserters refnsed. The Leopard Area into the Chesapeake. 

modore. A British boat came alongside, and the lieutenant in command was politely- 
received by Barron in the cabin of the Chesapeake. He Laformed the commodore that 
he was in search of deserters,, and, giving their names, he demanded their release, on 
the authority of instructions issued at Halifax on the 1st of June by Vice-Admiral 
Berkeley. Those .instructions directed all captains under his command, should they 
fall in with the Chesapeake out of the waters of the United States, to show their 
orders, and " to proceed and search" for such deserters ; at the same time, should the 
commander of the Chesapeake make a similar demand, they were to allow him to 
search for deserters from the American service, "according to the usages of civilized 
nations on terms of peace and amity with each other."* He also presented a note 
from Captain Humphreys of the Leopard., expressing a hope that every circumstance 
respecting the deserters might "be adjusted in a manner that the harmony sub- 
sisting between the two countries might remain undisturbed." 

Barron was justly astonished at the impertinence of Humphreys and the assump- 
tions of Berkeley. The " customs and usages" referred to by the latter were confined 
to the British navy, and were subjects for complaint by " civilized nations." The 
practice had been advocated only in the British Parliament and by the British press ; 
and twice already the "usage" had been applied to American vessels by British 
cruisers and denounced as outrageous.^ Barron knew well that the first outrage of 
the kind had caused the issuing of a standing order from his government to the com- 
manders of national vessels never to allow their crews to be mustered except by their 
own oiEcers. He therefore made a short reply to Humphreys, telling him he knew 
of no deserters on board the Chesapeake, that he had instructed his recruiting officers 
not to enlist British deserters, and explicitly assuring him that his crew should not 
be mustered except by their own officers. 

While the lieutenant was waiting for Barron's answer, the officers of the Chesa- 
peake, suspicious of some mischief brewing, were busy in clearing the ship for action. 
She had left port all unprepared for conflict. Without the least expectation of en- 
countering an enemy, she had gone to sea without preparation for hostile service, 
' either in the drilling of her men or in perfecting her equipments. She was littered 
and lumbered by various objects, and her crew had been mustered only three times. 

When the lieutenant left, Barron seems to have imagined that some hostile demon- 
stration might follow his refusal to allow a search for deserters. His men were 
silently called to quarters, and the ship was regularly prepared for action. He soon 
received a trumpet message from Humphreys, saying, " Commodore Barron must be 
aware that the orders of the vice-admiral must be obeyed." Barron replied that he 
did not understand. The hail was several times repeated, and then a shot was sent 
from the Leopard athwart the bows of the Chesapeake. This was speedily followed 
by another, and as quickly the remainder of the broadside was poured into the almost 
helpless frigate. Owing to obstructions it was difficult to get her batteries ready ; 
and when one broadside was ready for action there was no priming-powder. When 
a small quantity was brought, there were no matches, locks, nor loggerheads, and not 
a shot could be returned. Meanwhile the Leopard, at not more than pistol-shot dis- 
tance, and in smooth water, poured several broadsides upon the unresisting ship, kill- 
ing three men and wounding eighteen. Barron and his aid (Mr. Broome), who were 
standing in the gangway watching the assailant, were slightly hurt. The commodore 
frequently expressed a de^re that one gun, at least, might be fired before he should 

1 Vice-Admiral Berkeley's circular order recited that many seamen, subjects of his Britannic majesty, and serving in 
the British Navy, had deserted from several British ships, which he named, and had enlisted on board the frigate Chee- 
apeake, and had openly paraded the streets of Norfolk, in sight of their officers, under the American colors, protected by 
the magistrates of the town and the recmiting ofBcer, who refused to give them up, either on demand of the commanders 
of the ships to which they belonged or on that oOhe British consul. 

2 See the account of outrage in case of the B^hnore, Captain Phillips, on page 102, and that of the American gun- 
boat overhauled by one of Admiral CoUingwooa's vessels in the Mediterranean, note 2, page 146. An apology was 
made for the former outrage, but the latter was passed by. 



58 PICTOKIAL FIELD-BOOK 

rrender of the Chempeake. The Deserters carried away. The Outrage resented. 

rike his flag, for he perceived that a surrender would he necessary to save the ship 
om utter destruction. He was gratified. Just as the colors in their descent touched 
le tafii-ail, Lieutenant Allen, who had made ineffectual attempts to use a loggerhead,' 
m with a live coal between his fingers and touched off one of the guns of the second 
i vision of the ship, of which he was commander. 

The Leopard had kept up her cannonade, without any response, for about twelve 
inutes. Twenty-one of her round shot had hulled the Chesapeake, and her grape 
id made considerable havoc with the victim's sails and rigging. When the Amer- 
an ensign was lowered, two British lieutenants and_ several midshipmen went on 
)ard, mustered the crew, arrested the three deserters from the Mdampus, dragged 
om his concealment in the coal-hole the fourth, named John Wilson, who had desert- 
L from the Halifax, and bore them all away to the Leopard. Barron, meanwhile, 
id informed Humphreys by note^ that the Chesapeake was his prize ; but that com- 
ander refused to receive her, saying, " My instructions have been obeyed, and I de- 
re nothing more." He then expressed regret because of the loss of life, and offered 
ly assistance the crippled ship might require. His proffered sympathies and aid 
ere indignantly rejected; and the Chesapeake, with mortified officers and crew, 
ade her way sullenly back to Norfolk. 

The unfortunate deserters were taken to Halifax, tried by a court-martial, and sen- 
need to be hung. . The three Americans were reprieved on condition that they 
ould re-enter the British service, but Wilson, the English subject, was hanged. 
When Canning, the British Minister for Foreign Affairs, heard of the outrage, he 
pressly disavowed the act in behalf of his government, and informed Monroe and 
nkney that orders had been sent out for the recall of Berkeley from his command, 
umphreys also suffered the displeasure of his government because he had exceeded 
s instructions, find he was never again employed in service afloat. One of the 
tnericans remanded to slavery in the British navy died in captivity ; the others, 
one 13, after five years of hard service, were restored* to the deck of the ship from 
1812. which they had been taken. Provision was also made for the families of 
e slain. 

The attack on the Chesapeake created the most intense excitement and indignation 
roughout the United States, and for a time all local politics were forgotten, and all 
Tties, Federalists and Democrats, natives and foreigners, were united in a firm re- 
ive that Great Britain should make reparation for the wrong, or be made to feel 
e indignation of the insulted republic in the power of war. Public meetings were 
Id in all the principal cities from Boston to N'orfolk,^ in which the feelings of the 
ople were vehemently expressed. "It is an act of such consummate violence and 
•ong," said the citizens of Philadelphia,* "and of so barbarous and murderous char- 
ter, that it would debase and degrade any nation, and much more so a nation of 
semen, to submit to it." Such were the sentiments every where expressed, and there 



A loggerhead is a spherical mass of iron heated and used in place of a match in firing cannon in the navy 

dreth s Htsfory o/(fe J7mM States, Second Series, ii., 678 ; Perkins's ffistory o/«fte iate ror, page 22 

On the return of the Cfesoiieirite to Norfolk a puhlic meeting was held there, when it was resolved that no inter- 

kool Cantl'tni»' tl''* ^'^ '"'i ^"'/f? '''"''^™° '" ^"^ ^^""y'"'"! *" Pl^a^^e of the President sCd 
Known. Ciiptam Douglas, the commander of the squadron, made some insolent threats, when Cabell Governor of 

hZL,Tt?a'f'*f''"'-°'""l"''*°'l°r'^""'^='''°P*°°- D°''g'«MndinghisthrekrstobewkSgm™chie 

Zhlin %r ^a.^'^'f «T' ^ "^ "'*' "1"^ '°™'*°*' ""^ '""J'^™" »""> " menacing position in Hampton Eoads 

The rImaWfl thP^ cT' "l ""°°'°* "^ '^' '^'""''™° ""™' ^'"'^ "' ^°'f°"'' ^"^ "'^^'-^d not to molest him 

He he remaned there. Some rather spicy correspondence with Erskine, the British minister, ensued in the course 

of H.™T,?nn'»ft"^?r'^"'*'™/?;: '"""^ ^^^^-^^^^ l^elonging to the British fleet destroyed byrendi»iantpec^ 
of Hampton after the return of the Chempeake 1 In a letter to the Secretary of State from Monticel^ concerning 
, demand under such circumstances, President Jefferson wrote: "It will be very difficult tnnswerMrErsMne'sdf 
ad respectmg the water-casks in a tone proper for such a demand. I have heard of one who! haTL broten hie cane 
r the head of another, demanded payment for his cane. This dem^d might well enough have^de part of an oSr 
Zt l' Isnr^Thf °' '? "^^ Ckuapeake, and to deliver up the aut*s of the murders c^mUted on boJrd he°-° 
iSaSho?or^:rSL™^r"'"^' ^'"' ^'^^^^ "^^ '^^'""^"^' --^o-phHopkinson, Es,.'rargFed. 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 



159 



British Vessels ordered to leave American Waters. 



Harbors to be defeuded. 



Fanishment of Barron. 



was a general desire for an immediate declaration of war against Great Britain to re- 
dress all wrongs and grievances. But the President and his Cabinet, averse to war, 
preferred a pacific course, and determined to allow Great Britain an opportunity for 
a disavowal of the act, and to make reparation of the wrong. The former, as we have 
observed, was promptly done by Mr. Canning ; the latter, embarrassed by intricate 
negotiations, was accomplished more tardily. 

In response and submission to the ^pular will, the President issued a proclamation 
on the 2d of July, in which he complained of the habitual insolence of the British 
cruisers, expressed his belief that the present outrage was unauthorized, and ordered 
all British armed vessels to leave the waters of the United States immediately. As 
his government possessed no power to compel compliance with this order, he directed 
that, in case of their refusal to leave, all intercourse with them, their officers and 
crews, should be at once suspended. He forbade all persons affording such vessels 
aid of any kind, unless in the case of a ship in' distress or charged with public dis- 
patches. Preparations for defense were also made. Most of the gun-boats in com- 
mission were ordered to New York, Charleston, and New Orleans ; military stores 
were. purchased; one hundred thousand militia were ordered to be detached by the 
different states, but without pay, and volunteers were invited to enroll themselves. 

Commodore Barron was made to 
feel the nation's indignation most se- 
verely. He was accused of neglect 
of duty, and was tried by a court- 
martial on specific charges of that 
nature. The navy, government, and 
nation appear to have predeterm- 
ined his guilt. The wounded na- 
tional pride needed a palliative, and 
it was found in the supposed de- 
linquencies of the unfortunate com- 
modore. He was found guilty, and 
sentenced ,to five "years' suspension 
from the service, without pay or 
emoluments. 1 Captain Gordon was 
tried pn the same charge, but his of- 
fense was so slight that he was only 
privately reprimanded. Such also 
was the fate of Captain Hall, of the 
marines ; while the gunner, for neg- 
lect in having priming-powder suffi- 
cient, was cashiered. 

It was the opinion of Mr. Cooper 
that these officers were made the 





/j^XJLco Cly^^ 



(iJioLty*^^ 



1 James Barron was born in Virginia in 1768, and commenced his services in the navy nnder his father, vrho was 
" commodore of all the armed vessels of the Commonwealth of Virginia" during the Revolution and the Confederation. 
He was commissioned a lieutenant under Barry In 1798, and the following year was promoted to the highest grade then 
known to the navy, namely, captain. With, and subordinate to his brother Samuel, he sailed to the Mediterranean that 
vear where he soon acquired fame for his skill in seamanship. He was one of the best officers and disciplinarians m 
the navv The affair of the Chempeake and its effects upon himself cast a shadow over his future life. He was restored 
to official position, but, somewhat broken in spirit, he never afterward entered the service afloat. In 1820 he and Deca- 
tur had a correspondence on the affair of the Chempeake, which resultedm a duel, the particulars of which will be given 
hereafter. The duel was fought near Bladensburg, four miles from Washington City. Both were badly wounded. De- 
catur died ; Barron recovered after months of intense suffering. *v oil <•» -, 

Barron held several Important commands in the service on shore, and at the time of his death, on the 21st of Apr. , 
1861, he was the senior officer of the United States Navy. He died at Norfolk, in Virginia, and was buried m St. Paul's 
Ohur A-vard there with military and civic honors, on the morning of the 23d of April. A funeral sermon was preached 
ta the venerable aid venerated church by Kev. William Jackson. It was a beautiful tribute to the worth of a brave and 
ill-requited patriot. 



160 PICTORIAL PIELD-BOOK 

Keparation demanded of Eugland. Failure to obtain it. Hoyal Proclamation concerning British Seamen. 

scape-goats of the government, where divided power is too often not only irrespons- 
ible but inefficient. " It may well be questioned," he says, " if any impartial person, 
who coolly examines the subject, will not arrive at the conclusion that the real de- 
Ibquents were never put on their trial." He then adverts to the fact that four 
months had been consumed in fitting this, single vessel for sea, under the immediate 
eye of the government, at a time when there was pressing necessity for her service ; 
that she did not receive all her guns until a 'few days before she sailed; that her 
crew were coming on board until the last hour before her departure ; that her people 
had been quartered only three days before she put to sea, and that she was totally 
unfitted for active service when she was ordered to leave port. " When it was found 
that the nation had been disgraced," continues Mr. Cooper, " so unsound was the state 
of popular feeling that the real delinquents were overlooked, while their victims be- 
came objects of popular censure."^ 

The President's proclamation was followed by the dispatch of the armed schooner 
Revenge to England with instructions to the American ministers (Monroe and Pink- 
ney) to demand reparation for insults and injuries in the case of the Chesapeake, and 
to suspend all other negotiations untU it should be granted. Unfortunately for the 
success of the special negotiations, these instructions also directed them, in addition 
to a demand for an apology and indemnity to the families of the killed, to insist, by 
way of security for the future, that the visitation of American vessels in search of 
British subjects should be totally relinquished. This was inadmissible. The British 
government refused to treat upon any other subject than that of reparation. A dis- 
avowal of the act had already been made, and every disposition to be just and friendly 
had been shown. The ministry even placed their government in the position of an 
injured party, inasmuch as the proclamation concerning British ships of war iu Amer- 
ican waters was evidently an act of retaliation before a demand for reparation had 
been made, or the disposition of the British Cabinet had been ascertained. 

Monroe and Pinkney had already proposed to reopen negotiations for a treaty on 
the basis of the one returned from their government unratified,^ and, with these new 
instructions, they pursued the subject with so much assiduity that Mr. Canning made 
= October 22, to them a formal and final reply^ that, while he was reaidy to listen to any 
180T. suggestions with a view to the settlement of existing difficulties, he would 
not negotiate anew on the basis of a treaty concluded and signed, and already reject- 
ed by one of the parties. Indeed there was a decided aversion to treating at all on 
the subject of impressments ; and the views of the government on that topic were 
- October IT. Plainly manifested when, by royal proclamation,^' all British mariners, in 
whatever service engaged, were required to leave it forthwith and hasten 
to the aid of their native country, then menaced and imperiled, and her "maritime 
rights" called m question. It authorized all commanders of foreign ships of war to 
seize British seamen on board foreign merchant vessels (but without undue violence), 
and take them to any British port. It also demanded from all foreign ships of war 
the delivery of all British mariners on board of them; and that in case of a re- 
fusal to give them up, proper notice should be communicated to the British minister 
resident of the nation to which such contumacious vessel and commander might be- 
long, that measures for redress might be employed. 

Mr. Monroe formally objected to this proclamation, as shutting the door against all 
future negotiations on the subject of impressments. ^ Cann ing repUed that it was 

1 Cooper's NmaX Bistmy of the United States, ii., 110. „ o 

James Monroe waB bom in Westmoreland ConntT, in Vireinia on thp 2fl nf Anril itko tn ^u ^® ^^^^ }' 

ex!:rr,LrMr^k^VdSrtrS^^^^^ 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 



161 



Special Envoy to the United States. 



His Mission fniitless. 



Critical Situation, 



only a declaration 
of existing law, and 
necessary for the in- 
formation of British 
commanders who 
might be placed in a 
situation similar to 
that of Captain Hum- 
phreys, of the Zeop- 
ard. 

It was evident to 
both parties that the 
topic of that outrage 
could not be satis- 
factorily treated in 
London, because the 
American ministers 
could not separate it 
from that of impress- 
ment. The British 
government re- ^ 



minister to Washing- 
ton, provided with 
instructions to bring 
the unhappy dispute 
to an honorable con- 
clusion. H. G. Rose, 
a son of one of the 
ministers, was ap- 
pointed for the deli- 
cate duty, and ar- 
rived at Annapolis in 
January, 1808. His 
mission was fruit- 
less. He was instruct- 
ed not to treat of the 
affair of the Chesa- 
peake while the re- 
cent proclamation of 
the President was in 
force, nor to connect 
yf^ ^^ ^ the subject with 

-/^^^-J^-t^^-7 ^^^'^'"'^^^^'^'t:^ that of impress- 




solved therefore 

to send a special ^ . ments from pri- 

vate vessels. As the' proclamation had reference to the conduct of British armed 
. vessels in American waters from the beginning of the current European war, the 
President refused to withdraw the document, and Rose returned in the same vessel 
that bore him to our shores. Meanwhile Monroe had returned home, leaving Pinkney 
resident minister in London. All hopes of settling existing difficulties with England 
were at an end, and from the beginning of 1808 the political relations between the 
two governments foreboded inevitable hostilities at no distant day. 

The critical condition of foreign relations induced the President to call the Tenth 
Congress together as early as the 25th of October. The administration party had an 
overwhelming majority in that body, and was daily increasing in strength through- 
out the country. The confidence of the Democrats in Jefferson's wisdom, sagacity, 
and patriotism was unbounded. In the Ignited States Senate there were only six 
Federalists, and one of them, John Quincy Adams, soon left their ranks and joined 
those of the dominant party.? A new Democratic member appeared at about the 
same time, and began a career as a national legislator which forms a wonderful chap- 
ter in the history of the government. _J[t.wa8-Henry JDJay, 2 wh£ had beea appointed 
to fill, for a single session, the sea,t made vacant by the resignation of General John 



life, and.^ith Patrick Henry and others of his state, he opposed the ratification of the National Constitution. He was 
one' of the first United States senators from Virginia under it. He was sent to France as emhaseador inlT94, and was 
recalled hy Washington in 1T96. In 1T98 he was elected Governor of Virginia, and three years afterward Mr. Jefferson 
sent him to Paris to assist in negotiations for the purchase of Louisiana. He was then transferred to the British court 
as co-laborer in diplomacy with Mr. Pinkney. In 1811 he was again elected Governor of Virginia, but was soon called to 
the Cabinet of Mr. Madison as Secretary of War. In 181G he was elected President of the United States, and held that 
office eight years, when he retired from public life. He lived in Virginia until 1831, when he took np his residence with 
his son-in-law in the city of New York. He died there on the 4th of Jaly of that year, at the age of little more than sev- 
entv-one years. ... i- „ 

1 Mr. Adams was then fortv years of age, and had been in the Senate since 1803. " He is a man of much information, 
wrote his contemporary and friend. Senator Plamer, of New Hampshire, in April, 1806, " a correct and animated speaker, 
of strong passions, and of course subject to strong prejudices, but a man of strict, undeviating integrity. He is not the 
slave of party, nor influenced by names, bnt free, independent, and occasionally eccentric." 

s "This day [December 29, 1806"], wrote Senator Plniner, "Henry Clay, the successor of John Ad&iir, was qtialifled, 
and took his seat in the Senate. He is a young lawyer. His stature is tall and slender. I had much conversation with 
him, and It afforded me mnch pleasure. He is intelligent, and appears frank and candid. His address is good, and his 
manners easy."— iife vfPlwmer, page 361. 



162 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Political Complexion of the Tentb Congress. The President's Message. An Embargo established. 

4dair, then under a cloud because of his recent participation with Aaron Burr in his 
schemes in the Valley of the Mississippi. 

In the House of Representatives the Democratic party had about the same average 
majority as in the Senate". The opposition, even ■with the " Quids" — John Randolph 
iiid his Virginia seceders — could not command at any time more than twenty-eight 
i^otes. Their chief leaders were Samuel W. Dana, of Connecticut, who had been a 
nember since 1796; the late Josiah Quincy, of Massachusetts, who took his seat in 
1 805 ; Barent Gardinier, of New Yoi-k, and Philip Barton Key, of Maryland. Among 
;he new administration members was Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky. Thus sus- 
;ained by the National Legislature and the people, the policy of the President and 
lis Cabinet became the policy of the country. 
Octobers?, I^ ^^^ Seventh annual message* the President called the attention of 

180T. Congress to several very important subjects. He gave a narrative of un- 
uccessful efforts to settle with Great Britain all difficulties concerning search and 
mpressments ; considered the affair of the Chesapeake, the refusal of the British com- 
aanders to obey the orders of his proclamation to leave American waters, the orders 
n Council and Decrees, the subject of national defenses, the uneasiness of the In- 
Lians on the frontiers, and the relations with other foreign governments. He also 
xpressed great dissatisfaction at the acquittal of Burr, through erroneous, if not mis- 
hievous interpretation of law, as he evidently believed ; and he pressed upon the 
ttention of Congress the propriety of so amending the law as to prevent the de- 
truction of the government by treason.' 

December 11. Having been officially informed"" of the new interpretation of the Ber- 
December 18 ^'" Decree,^ and unofficially apprised of the almosfsimultaneously issued 
British orders in Council, the President communicated to Congress" the 
acts in his possession, and recommended the passage of an Embargo Act — " an in- 
ibition of the departure of our vessels from the ports of the United States."^ The 
lenate, with closed doors, proceeded to the consideration of the subject, and, after a 
December 18. ^^^^}°^ °^ ^°^^ ^ours and a departure from ordinary rules, passed a bill'* 
laying an embargo on all shipping, foreign and domestic, in the ports of 
he United States, with specific exceptions. The minority made a feeble opposition 
a the measure.^ They asked for delay, but it was not granted, and the act was 
assed by a strictly party vote— ayes twenty-two, noes six. John Quincy Adams 
lius signified his adherence to the dominant party by voting with them. In the 
[ouse, which also sat with closed doors, the passage of the act was pressed wjth 
qual zeal by the friends of the administration, and was as warmly opposed by the 
'ederalists and " Quids." 'The bill was debated for three days in Committee of the 
Vhole, the sittings continuing far into each night. The bill was passed on Monday, 
le 21st, at almost midnight, by a vote of eighty-two' to forty-four, and became a law 
y receiving the signature of the President on the following day. It prohibited all 
essels in the ports of the United States from sailing for any foreign port, except for- 
ign ships in ballast, or with cargoes taken on board before notification' of the act; 
ad coastwise vessels were required to give heavy bonds to land their cargoes in the 



Lt ^^.^"^"f'l »'°'"' Constitution," said the President, " certainly supposed they had guarded as well their govern- 
ent against destruction by treason, as their citizens against oppression under pretense of it ; and if these ends are not 
ffir»™ vt ™P°''?°'='' *" ^?^™ by what means more effectual they may be 8ecured."-5tetesma™'« ManvaL i., 297. 
mn^^'i^? "^f ^^l' sagacious men, felt at that time that the Union had barely escaped dissolution from the in- 
mous machinations of Burr and his dupes. " -">. »u 

' 2,1° ^^° ™' ' Special Message to Congi'ess December 18 ISOT 

The President was charged with having recommended an embargo before receiving positive information of the Ber- 
i Deere, and the Orders in Council. This was a mistake. Of the former he had been Informed forTweek previously 
his communication to Congress on the subject by an official letter from Mr. Armstrong ; and on the momtorof fte 
y on which the message was sent in, the Natwrml Inmigmeer, of Washington City, contained a DaraOTanh from a 
,ndon paper of the 10th of November, announcing the Orders in Council "awaiting hi^ mao^°y'LirS" Pri™te 
;ters had also reached him, by which he was satisfied that, by the combined action of the bSCTeSfSrei™ ™,m 
jrce of the United States was utterly destroyed. '""<: ueiiigerente, the foreign com- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. iqq 



Effects of the Embargo. Prophecy of Josiah Qgincy. Party Spirit violently aroused. 

United States. What little life was left in American commerce under the pressure 
of the orders and decrees of the belligerents was utterly crushed out by this act. 

The Embargo Act, universal in its application and. unlimited in its duration, was 
an experiment never before tried by any nation — an attempt, by withholding inter- 
course from all the world, to so operate upon two belligerent nations as to compel 
them to respect the rights and accede .to the claims of an injured neutral. Its pro- 
fessed objects were to induce France and England to relax their practical hostility to 
neutral commerce, and to preserve and develop the resources of the United States. 
But it accomplished neither. The French government viewed it as timely aid to 
their Continental System, and far more injurious in its effects upon Great Britain 
than upon France ; while England, feeling that her national character and honor were 
at stake, and believing that she could endure the privations which the measure would 
inflict in both countries longer than America, proudly refused to yield a single point 
under the pressure of this new method of coercion. The words of Josiah Quincy be- 
came prophetic. " Let us once declare to the world," he said, " that, before our em- 
bargo policy be abandoned, the French decrees and the British orders must be re- 
voked, and we league against us whatever spirit of honor and pride exists in both 
those nations. . . . No nation will be easily brought to acknowledge such a depend- 
ence on another as to be made to abandon, by a withholding of intercourse, a settled 
line of policy."' 

Opposition to the measure, in and out of Congress, was violent and incessant. The 
topic was made a strong battery from which the Federalists hurled their hottest de- 
nunciatory shot against the admmistration. Old party cries were again heard, and 
the people were startled by the bugbear of French influence in the councils of the 
nation. The President was charged with secret intrigues with Bonaparte for an alli- 
ance ,of the United States and France against Great Britain, the traditional object of 
hatred by the Democratic party. The suggestion alarmed intelligent men, for the 
history of six years had taught them that the allies of the Corsican soon became his 
subjects.?. -The New England people were taught to believe that the Embargo was 
the result of a combination of Western and Southern states to ruin the Eastern com- 
monwealths ; and every art which party tactics could command was brought to bear 
in the service of the opposition, who, as politicians, hoped, by means of the alarm, dis- 
traction, and real distress which then prevailed, to array such numbers against the 
dominant party that, in the election for President of the United States to be held a 
few months later, they might fill the Executive chair with one of their own number. 

1 Speech in Congress on the supplementary Embargo Act, Febraary, 1808. 
. 2 In the course of debate on a supplementary Embargo Act in Congress, on the 20th of February, Gardinier denounced 
the whole affair as a sly, cnnning measure to aid Prance. " Is the nation prepared for this ?" he vehemently exclaimed. 
" To settle that point," he said to the defenders of the measure, "tell the people what your object is ; tell them that you 
mean to take part with the ' Great Pacificator.' Else stop your present course. Do not go on forging chains to fasten 
us to the car of the imperial conqueror !" 

" The commercial portion of the United States (I mean from Pennsylvania to New Hampshire"), wrote Timothy Pick- 
ering on the 26th of January, 1808, "are in general yet patient, because, from their unlimited confidence in the Presi- 
dent's wisdom and patriotism, they believe that some mighty state secret induced him to recommend the Embargo. If 
they supposed, as I do, that it-originated in the influence of Prance— perhaps in a concert with that government, the 
sooner to pull down the power of Britain— the public indignation would be roused, and our country saved from becom- 
ing the provinces of the ' emperor and king.' 

" I greatly regret the retaliating order of Great Britain ; for, though it really furnishes no ground for the Embargo, it 
will yet be urged by the President's friends to jns>tify it. The path of interest and common policy was plain. We 
should have pursued our ordinary commerce with all the British dominions, and armed our vessels against French 
ci'nisers. This would have offended Bonaparte. No matter. While Britain ynaintaiTia h&r own indt^endtmce ours will be 
safe. If she fall (which I do not believe will happen), our condition would not be worse. With arms in our hands, «nd 
a manly military spirit pervading our country, we should be respected by the conqueror ; but tamely crouching, without 
any resistance, we should be treated, as we should deserve, with contempt, and all the indignities due to voluntary 
slaves."— ilfS. Letter to General Ebenezer Sievene, dated " City of Washirfgton, January 26, 1808." 
-This remarkable letter, now before me, from a senator of the United States to a leading merchant of yie city of New 
York, is cited to show, first, how powerfnlly partisan feelings may operate upon the opinions and judgment of a true 
patriot, and, secondly, how much the leading men of the country at ^hat time considered the United States a dependent 
on Great Britain. " While Britain maintains her own Independence ours will be safe !" The war that speedily followed 
dispelled that servile spirit. 



64 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



nconsistency of PoliticianB. Vio latiops of the Embargo. Supplementary Acts. A young Foefs DepnnciationB. 

That section of the Federalists known as the "Essex Junto" were the most uncom- 
)romising opponents of the administration and the Embargo ; and many of those who, 
mly two years before, had vehemently denounced Great Britain because of her per- 
listent. assaults upon the rights of neutrals, were now, in the heat of party zeal, the 
ipologists of, and sympathizers with that goTemment, whose aggressions had con- 
Febraary, stantly increased. In the very month'* when th^it eminent British mer- 

^^"^- ' chant, Alexander Baring, declared before the world that " it would be no 
ixaggeration to say that upward of three fourths of all the merchants, seamen, etc., 
mgaged in commerce or navigation in America, have, at some time or other, suffered 
rom acts of our [British] cruisers," ^ a leading Federal politician (who, two years be- 
February 10, fore,"" declared, by his vote in the National Senate, that the conduct of 
1806. ' Great Britain was "an unprovoked aggression upon the property of the 
iitizens of the United States, a violation of their neutral rights, and an encroachment 
ipon their national independence"), wrote to a friend that, " although England, with 
ler thousand ships of war, could have destroyed our commerce, she has really done 
't 710 essential injury."^ 

It was soon discovered that the Embargo Act was frequently violated by enrolled 
joasting vessels carrying cargoes to the West Indies, and it became necessary to pass 
supplementary acts to prevent such evasions of the law. It, was chiefly in the de- 
bates upon these acts that the acrimony already noticed appeared. Gardinier, of 
S^ew York, made the most sweeping charges of corruption, and affiliation with the 
'French usurper" against the majority in Congress. His violence and abuse elicited 
!ome personal attacks, and one of them so incensed him that he challenged his assail- 
mt (Campbell) to mortal combat. They met at Bladensburg. Gardinier was shot 
;hrough one side of his body, but, after weeks of suffering, he recovered and came 
Dack to Congress, not a whit subdued. Disputes ran high throughout the country, 
md public speeches, newspapers, and pamphlets teemed with' the most vehement as- 
saults upon the dominant party.^ Many men, dreading the horrors of a war with 

I Baring's Inquiry, etc. 

= Timothy Pickering to James Sullivan, Governor of New Hampshire, February 16, 180S. 

3 Among the few political pamphlets of that period, now extant, is a remarkable one before me, entitled The Emtar- 
'0 ; or, Sketches of tlie TiTnes : a Satire. It is a poem, and was written by William Ccllen Bkyant, then a lad only about 
hirteen years of age, who is still (1SG7) in active political life, ^nd holds a front rank among the literary celebrities of 
he age. In rhythm, vigor of thought, and force of expression, this production of his early years gave ample assurance 
if the future distinction of the author as a poet and political writer.* But politics were seldom the theme for his muse 
Lfter this early effusion of that nature. 

In the preface he spoke of the "terrapin policy" of the administration— the policy designed by the Embargo of shut- 
ing the nation up in its own shell, as it were, like the terrapin. His epigraph, tram Pope's Eamy on Satire, contained 
he significant line, 

" When private faith and public trust are sold." 
le assailed the President and his supporters as vigorously as if his weapon had been wielded by the hand of long ex- 
)erience. Seriously believing that his country was in great peril, he wrote— 

" Ill-fated clime 1 condemned to feel th' extremes 
Of a weak ruler's philosophic dreams ; 
Driven headlong on to ruin's fateful brink, 
When will thy country feel, when will sh^ think?" 
)f the Embargo he wrote— 

*' Curse of our nation, source of countless woes. 
From whose dark womb nnreckoned misery flows, 
Th' Embargo rages, like a sweeping wind- 
Fear lowers before, and Famine stalks behind." 
Jifluenced by the common opinion of the opposition, he said to his countrymen- 
" How foul a blot Columbia's glory stains ! 
How dark the scene 1 Infatuation reigns ! 
For French intrigue, which wheedles to devour, 
* Threatens to fix us in Napoleon's power. 



' In a notice of the second edition, with other poems, printed in 1809, the Monthly Anthohpy for June of that year said, 
'If the young bard has met with no assistance in the composition of this poem, he certainly bids fair, should he con- 
;inue to cultivate his talent, to gain a respectable station on the Parnassian Mount, and to reflect credit on the literature 
)f his country." 



OF THE WAR OP 1812. 165 



An insulting Proposition by Great Britain. Tribute exacted from Neutral Nations. 

England, wtich they believed the Embargo Act would evoke, preferred to give free- 
dom to the commerce of the country, and let it provide itself against the risks that 
menaced it, rather than to kill it outright. Such was the feeling of many merchants ; 
but patriotic statesmen, holding the dignity and the independence of the United 
States as of far more consequence than the temporary interests of trade, advocated 
the most stringent execution of the Embargo Act, and at the middle of . March 12, 
March^ the supplementary enactments became law. ^^''^• 

At about the same time the British Parliament, with an air of condescension, pass- 
ed an act,'' as a favor to neutrals, permitting them (United States and 
Sweden) to trade with France and her dependencies, on the condition that 
vessels engaged in such trade should first enter some British -port, pay a transit duty, 
and take out a license .'^ In other words, the United States were told by England, 
with as much insolence and hauteur in fact as the Dey of Algiers ever exhibited, 
" Pay me tribute, and my cruisers (or corsairs) will be instructed not to plunder 
you." This was properly regarded as a flagrant insult — one which the British gov- 
ernment would never have offered except to a nation supposed to be incapable of 
efficiently resenting it. When to this insult was added a positive injury, a few 
weeks later ° in the form of instructions issued by ministers, in the name of . ., ,, 
the half-demented king, to the British naval commanders, expressly intend- 
ed to induce Americans engaged in commercial pursuits to violate the blockade, the 
administration resolved to plant itself firmly upon that dignity and independence 
which a free people ought always to assert. Those instructions, so disgraceful to 
the British ministers, were severely condemned by every honest man in the British 
realm. ^ 

Evasions of the Embargo continued, and another supplementary act, applying to 
the navigation of rivers, lakes, and bays, increased its stringency, and awakened new 
and more bitter denunciations of the measure. But the government was immovable. 

Ob ne'er consent, obsequious, to advance 
The willing vassal of imperious France ! 
Correct that suffrage you misused before, 
And lift your voice above a Congress roar. 



Rise, then, Columbia ! heed not France's wiles, 
Her bullying mandates, her seductive smiles ; 
Send home Napoleon's slave, and by him say 
No art can lure us, and no threats dismay j 
Determined yet to war with whom we will. 
Choose our allies, or dare be neutral still." 
I have cited the above as an example of the intensity of feeling against the administration at that time among those 
politically opposed to Jefferson and his party— a feeling that made even boys politicians. 

1 This was essentially a tribute in the form of a duty, more odious in principle and application than the stamp tax that 
aroused the American colonists in 1765. The effect may be Illustrated by showing the amount of tribute which American 
commerce was required by the act to pay upon only two of the many articles specified, with the percentage of the tariff, 
namely, cotton and tobacco. The amount on a cargo of cotton, at the then current prices, costing at New Orleans 
$43,500,' would be subjected to a tax in some English port, before it would be allowed to depart for a French port, of 
$6600 To this would be added about $2000 more on account of other charges. A cargo of tobacco of four hundred 
hogsheads would be subjected to a tribute of about $13,000. The estimated annual tribute upon tobacco alone was 
$2,338,000. It was proposed to tax a great variety of American productions in the same way. 

2 The follovring is a copy of the instructions: »»,,,• j ^v 
" George E. : Instructions to the commanders of our ships of war and privateers. Given at our Court at Windsor, the 

11th day of April, 1808, in the 48th year of our reign : , . . j . ^ 

" Our will and pleasure is that you do not interrupt any neutral vessel laden with lumber and provisions, and going to 
any of our colonies islands, or settlements in the West Indies or South America, to whomsoever the property may appear to 
Mma and notwithstanding such vessel may not have regular cUarances and documents on board. And In case any vessel 
shall be met with and beino- on her due course to the alleged port of destination, an indorsement shall be made on one 
or more of the principal papers of such vessel, specifying the destination alleged and the place where the vessel was so 
visited And in case any vessel so laden shall arrive and deliver her cargo at any of our colonies, islands, or settle- 
ments ^foresaid such vessel shall be permitted to receive her freight and to depart, either in ballast or with any goods 
that may be legally exported in such vessel, and to proceed to any unblockaded port, notwithstanding the present hos- 
tilities or any future hostilities which may take place. And apassportfor such vessel may be granted by the governor, or 
other person having the chief civil eommamd of sw:h colony, island, or 8ettUmeni."_ .;,..„,u., 

A British-bom writer of the day, after declaring that this order was a sufScient cause of war, said. What ! one of the 
most DOtent monarchs in the world, rather than do justice to an unoffending nation, on which, for fourteen years, his 
ministers had perpetrated the most flagrant outrages, invites, and tempts, and affords facilities to Its citizens to violate 
the laws of thek country, and openly pursue the infamous trade of smuggling."— Ifofftcto Carey. 



166 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

The Embargo denounced as suicidal. Dangers of National Vanity. A notable Illustration. 

.t was deaf to the prayers for a repeal made in petition after petition that poured 
nto Congress, especially from New England. A proposition for repeal, and to allow 
nerchant vessels to arm and take care of themselves, was voted down by a large 
najority ; and the only glimpse of light was seen through an authorization given to 
he President to suspend the Embargo Act, according to his discretion, in case of 
)eace in Europe, or such changes in the policy of the belligerents as might, in his 
judgment, make the navigation of the seas safe to American vessels. It was in the 
lebate on this proposition that Josiah Quincy, who had then taken a place among 
he acknowledged leaders of the Federal party, used the language already quoted on 
•age 163. He denounced the whole policy as fallacious and mischievous. "The 
anguage of that policy is," he said, " ' Eescind your decrees and your orders, or we 
rill, in our wrath, abandon the ocean !' And suppose Great Britain, governed by 
he spirit of mercantile calculation, should reply, ' If such be your mode of venge- 
nce, indulge it to your heart's content ! It is the very thing we wish. You are our 
ommercial rivals, and, by driving you out of the market, we shall gain more than we 
an lose by your retirement.' . . . 

" It is to be feared," continued Mr. Quincy, " that, having grown giddy with good- 
jrtune, attributing the greatness of our prosperity to our own wisdom, rather than 
a course of events over which we have had no influence, we are now entering that 
3hool of adversity, the first blessings of which is to chastise, our overweening conceit 
f ourselves. A nation mistakes its relative importance and consequence in thinking 
tiat its countenance, or its intercourse, or its existence is all-important to the rest of 
lankind. An individual who should retire from intercourse with the world for the 
urpose of taking vengeance on it for some real or imaginary wrong, would, notwith- 
;anding the delusions of self-flattery, be certainly taught that the world moved 
long just as well after his dignified retirement as before. Nov would the case of a 
ation which should make a similar trial of its consequence be very different. The 
itercourse of human life has its basis in a natural reciprocity, which always exists, 
owever national or personal vanity may often suggest to inflated fancies that, in the 
Itercourse of friendship, civilities, or business, they give more than they receive." 

These were words of wisdom— words as wise and significant now as they were 
len. They combated a great error— an error folly exemplified in our day in the 
isumption of a single class of our citizens, namely, the cotton-growers. These, 
lowing the value of their great staple and its consequence to the civilized world' 
3lieved or asserted, before the late Civil War, that it gave them power to dictate 
irtam lines of policy to the governments of the earth. In the madness of their 
•ror they proclaimed cotton a king too potent for all other kings. Believing that 
le producers of the raw material have the consumers of it always in their power, 
id may bring the latter to terms at any time by cutting off the supply, they forgot 
le great fact that dependence is reciprocal, and that, in commercial conflicts the 
•oducer, being the poorer party, is always the first to succumb. The events and 
^sults of the late Civil War laid bare that radical error to the full comprehension of 
1, as well as to acute political economists. 

So it was with the Embargo. Those who expected to see great national triumphs 
llow that measure, which was expected to starve the English manufacturing oper- 
ives and the West India slaves, were bitterly disappointed. The evils brought 
5on their own national industry in various forms were far greater than those in- 
T "P^°?^"g^*"<l o'- France. It had one good effect, namely, the encouragement 
Id esl^abhshment of various manufactures in the United States, which have ever 
sen important elements of our national Ladependence.' 

,nT'?ri7i"' T' ^.f *™^ "Sainst Great Britain in 1812, the manufacture of cotton was carried on extenaivriv in 

Z'jn^L ti:^ixz :f ztriiT""''" "' ™"°" '"'"'^^ """* ^"^ '° oouraeTe^tL^irt^K 



Q|' THE WAR OF 1812. 167 



Proviaions tor strengthening the Army and Navy. Increase in the Number of Gun-boats. 



■1^. 




CHAPTER IX. 

*' Let traitors, who feel not the patriot's flame, 

Talk of yielding our honor to Englishmen's sways 

No such blemish shall sully our country's fair fame : 

We've no claims to surrender, nor tribute to pay. 

Then, though foes gather round, 

We're on Liberty's ground, 

Both too wise to be trapp'd, and too strong to be bound." 

Song — Enuasgo Ann Feaoe. 

" Where are you from f " bold Eodgers cried. 

Which made the British wonder ; 

Then with a gun they quick replied, 

Which made a noise like thunder. 

Like lightning we returned the joke, 

Our matches were so handy ; 
The Yankee bull-dogs nobly spoke 
The tune of Doodle Dandy." 

Song — ^Kodgeeb and Viotoet. 



■ RESIDENT Jefferson's policy had been to keep the army and navy 
upon the cheapest footing compatible with a due regard to the 
public good. It was now evident that these arms of the public 
service must be materially strengthened, in order to secure the 
national safety, and the President asked Congress to augment 
the number and efficiency of the regular army. They did so. 
The measure was opposed by the Federalists, but a bill to raise seven regimenM 
passed by a vote of ninety-eight to sixteen. Other provisions for war followed. The 
sum of 11,000,000 was placed at the disposal of the President for the erection of 
coast and harbor defenses. Another sum of $300,000 was appropriated for the pur- 
chase of arms, and $150,000 for saltpetre. The President was also authorized to call 
upon the governors of the several states to form an army, in the aggregate, of one 
hundred thousand militia, to be immediately organized, equipped, and " held in readi- 
ness to march at a moment's warning" when called for by the Chief Magistrate. He 
was also authorized to construct arsenals and armories at his discretion ; the sum of 
$200,000 was placed at his disposal for providing arms and military equipments for 
the whole body of the militia of the republic ; and about a million of dollars were 
appropriated to pay the first year's expenses of the seven new regiments. The gov- 
ernment appropriated altogether about $5,000,000 for war purposes.^ 

Efforts were made to increase the efficien^ of the navy by adding to the few sea- 
men already in the service twelve hundred and seventy-two additional men, to put 
on board the gun-boats then completed or in process of construction. In Decem- 
ber^ the President had been authorized to procure one hundred and eighty- ^ ^^^ 
eight additional gunboats by purchase or construction, making, in all, two 
hundred and fifty-seven.^ Mr. Jefferson's idea appears to have .been to have these 

I The formation of new regiments brought into the service several men who became conspicuous in the War of 1812. 
Among them was Wade Hampton, of South Carolina, who had been in the army of the Revolution, and was now made 
a brigadier general. Among the colonels were Smythe and Parker, of Virginia, and Boyd, of Massachusetts. Peter 
Gansevoort, of New York, also of the Continental army, was made a brigadier. Zebulon Pike was promoted to major, 
and Winfleld Scott and Zachary Taylor both took offices in the army, the former as a captain, and the latter as a lieu- 
tenant. 

= The engraving on the following page shows the diflTerent forms of the gun-boats at that time. The group is made 
from drawings presented to me when visiting the navy yard at Gosport, opposite Norfolk, in Virginia, in the spring of 



PICTORIAL FIELD-B^OK U< ' 



n-boats ridiculed. 



Violent Hostility to a Navy. 



Its Neglect. 



lats in readiness, properly distributed, but not actually manned until necessity" 
ould call for their being put into commission. This proposition excited much 
licule, not only among naval officers, but among the people at large.' The whole 
in-boat system was denounced as " wasteful imbecility, called by the name of econ- 
ly," and Jefferson was pointed at as a dreaming philosopher without a whit of mil- 
iry knowledge, as evinced when Governor of Virginia in 1781.^ 
There seemed to be, for reasons quite inexplicable, a most violent hostility to a 
vy, especially at the South. A member (Mr. Williams) from South Carolina said 
a,t he " was at a loss to find terms sufficiently expressive of his abhorrence of a navy. 
! would go a great deal farther to see it burned than to extinguish the fire. It 
IS a curse to the country, and had never been any thing else. Navies had deceived 
J hopes of every country which had relied upon them." He affinned that the peo- 
! were willing to give commerce all the protection in their power, "but they could 
t provide a navy for that purpose." Others opposed a navy because it might be a 
lasure for increasing Executive patronage ; and no act was passed or appropriation 




GUN-BOATS. 

le, either for the employment of more men, or for the placing in commission any 
itional vessels, until January, 1809, when the P resident was directed to equip the 

mong those who ridiculed the a:un-boat system was Colonel John Trumbull the artist A<-rorrtiT,» tn thot =^=f= 
andTh'r'™' danger Shall menace any harhor, or any foreign ship ZSSt ursometody fs to Lf^^ 

a — TEUMBtxL's ieemmMcences o/Ajs own Kmes, page 262 ""i "o ohuuiq aave laKen nim- 

. the political poem quoted from on page 164, the author'thns alludes to Mr. Jefferson at that time : 
" And thou, the scorn of every patriot name, 

Thy country's ruin, and her councils' shame ! 

Poor, servile thing ! derision of the brave I 

Who erst from Tarleton fled to Carter's cave ; 

Thou, who, when menaced by perfidious Gaul, 

Didst prostrate to her whiskered minion fall ; 

And when our cash his empty bags supplied. 

Did meanly strive the foul disgrace to hide. 

(Jo, vpretch, resign the Presidential chair. 

Disclose thy secret measures, foul or fair; 

Go search with curious eye for homed fi:ogs 

'Mid the wild wastes of Louisiana bogs ; 

Or where Ohio rolls his turbid stream. 

Dig for huge bones, thy glory and thy theme." 



OF THE WAE OF 1812. 



169 

James Madison elected President. Effect of Bai-ipg-s Iwivdry. Oppoaition to the Britieh Orders In C onncil. 

United States, 44, President, 44, Essex, 32, and John Adams, 24, the latter vessel hav- 
ing been cut down from a frigate to a sloop of war. i 

The country was now agitated by an approaching election for President and Vice, 
President of the United States, and for a time the political caldron seethed violently. 
Early in 1808, a Democratic caucus of members of Congress nominated James Madi- 
son for President, and George Clinton for Vice-President of the republic. There was 
then a schism in the Democratic party, caused by the ambition of leaders. Mad- 
ison, Monroe, and Clinton were each candidates for the Chief Magistrate's chair; 
%nd the Federalists, perceiving, as they thought, some chance for success in the can- 
vass, nominated C. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina, for President, and Rufus King, 
of _ New York, for Vice-President. The result was the election of Madison and 
Clinton. 

Meanwhile events were transpiring on both sides of the Atlantic, apparently tend- 
ing to a general abandonment of the jpolicy of the Orders, Decrees, and Embargo. 
The able Inquiry of Mr. Baring concerning the orders in Council, already cited, made 
a powerful impression upon the mercantile classes of England. He had fully exposed 
the inexpediency and injustice of the measures, and nobly vindicated the character 
and conduct of the Americans. Some of the late Cabinet associates of Mr. Fox de- 
nounced those orders as both inexpedient and unjust ; and petitions for their repeal, 
numerously signed by the merchants and manufacturers of Hull, Manchester, Liver- 
pool, and London, were presented to the House of Lords on the 17th and 21st of 
March," while a bill affirming the action of the Privy Council in the matter was 
pending. Henry Brougham, an eminent barrister, was the advocate of the ' ^^"^' 
petitioners, and was heard with profound attention, on the 6th of April, in that body 
of peers of the realm of which, a little more than twenty years afterward, he became 
a distinguished member. ^ Already, in the month of March, resolutions moved against 
them by Lords Erskine, St. John, Holland, and Lauderdale, and a protest signed by 
the Earls of Lauderdale, King,, and Albermarle, had prepared the way for Brougham's 
argument. These documents contained, within their brief limits, close and sound ar- 
guments on the whole subject. The motion of Erskine discussed the illegality of the 
new system in a constitutional view. Lord St. John's treated of its repugnance to the 
law of nations. Lord Holland's set forth with great clearness its effects upon British 
intercourse with foreign nations ; and Lord Lauderdale's motion showed its prejudi- 
cial tendency to British commerce in general. The protest of the three peers named 
discussed more particularly the consequences on the cotton trade.' But the efforts 
of these statesmen and the array of facts set forth in the minutes of evidence taken 
at the bar of the House of Lords, before a Committee of the whole House, on the 
subject of the orders,'' were insufficient to move the majority, and the ministry tri- 
umphed. The bill affirming the action of the Council and making it permanent was 
passed, and Parliament fixed the amount of tribute in the form of " transit duties," 

' This vessel was built as a small frigate of 24 in Charleston, South Carolina. She was cut down to a sloop, then 
raised to a frigate ; finally cut down to a sloop again, and, about the year 1S30, was entirely rebuilt as a flrst-class ship. 
— Cooper's Naval History of the Vnited States, ii., 116. 

2 This was the now (1867) venerable Lord Brougham. He bad recently made London his residence, having practiced 
law in his native city of Bdinbnrg until 1807. He entered Parliament as a Whig in 1810, and was a coworker with Clark- 
son, Wilberforce, and Granville Sharpe in favor of the negro slave. He was the vindicator of Queen Caroline against 
the persecution of her infamous husband, King George the Fourth. His voice and pen were ever on the side of reform 
and humanity. In 1830 he became a peer, and Lord Chancellor of England. He has ever held a high place in literature, 
his first contributions having appeared in the Edinbwg Review, at its commencement in 1802. In his several depart- 
ments of labor as philosopher, law reformer, statesman, and critic, he has ever stood pre-eminent. He has resided 
much at Cannes, in France, during his later years, on account of ill health. 

Buring the late Civil War in America, Lord Brougham wrote and spoke in favor of the insurgents, who were fighting 
for the perpetuation of the slave system which he had opposed all his life, and against the government whose most zeal- 
ous adherents were avowed Abolitionists. 

3 According to the statement of that protest, the amount of cotton wool exported to England from the United States 
in 1807 was "250,000 bags, amounting, at £12 per bag, to the valne of £3,000,000. 

4 Printed, with *he motions aud protest alluded to, and an abstract of Brougham's speech, in a thin volume of about 
two hundred pages. 



[70 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Napoleon in Spain. The Bayonne Decree. Modifications of tlie British Orders in Council. 

just referred to, which neutrals must pay to England for perqiission to navigate the 
)cean without fear of sea-robbers. 

Napoleon, inspired by the keenest sagacity, expressed his approbation of the Em- 
)argo. He was then in Spain, ostensibly for the purpose of crushing royal intrigues 
or the good of the people, but really in preparing a throne for his brother Joseph. 
Murat, with a competent force, occupied Madrid in March,* and in June Joseph 
was declared by the Emperor to be King of Spain.. From Bayonne, in March, 
'f apoleon issued a decree directing the seizure and confiscation of all American ves- 
els in France, or which might arrive there ; and when Minister Armstrong remon-* 
trated, he was given to understand that the Emperor expected the Embargo to be 
<'ull and perfect. " No American vessel," said the French minister craftily, " can be 
%wfuUy abroad since the passage of the Embargo Act ; and those pretending to be 
uch must be either English, or, if American, vessels which come under the ban of the 
'lilan Decree because of subserviency to the British orders. The Emperor well knew 
hat there were a large number of American vessels afloat which, under the tempta- 
ion of immense profits, were sailing under British licenses; and others were evading 
'rench prohibitions by forged documents, which indicated that they had come di- 
Bctly from America. This leak in his Continental System Napoleon was determined 
3 stop, and for that purpose his Bayonne Decree was efiectual. 

The Spaniards resisted the attempts of Napoleon to. place his brother on their 
irone, and there was a general uprising of the Dons. The whole Spanish Peninsula 
ud the Spanish colonies in Central and South America were thrown open to British 
Dmmerce, and by so much weakened the effect of the American Embargo on that, 
jmmerce. A repeal of the orders in Council as they related to Spain, and also to 
'ortugal, whose royal family had lately fled to Brazil and opened a vast country 
lere, immediately followed. On the receipt of inteyigence concerning these fects, 
etitions from several maritime towns in the United States were sent to the Presi- 
ent, praying for a suspension of the Embargo Act as to Spain and Portugal ; but he 
eclined, saying, " To have submitted our rightful commerce to prohibitions and trib- 
tary exactions from others would have been to surrender our independence. To 
ssist them by arms was war, without consulting the state of things or the choice of 
le nation." He contended that the Embargo, "besides saving to our citizens their 
roperty, and our mariners to their country," gave time for the^belligerent nations to 
ivise a conduct as contrary to their interests as it was to our rights. As to Spain, ' 
3 wisely suggested that her resistance might not prove (as it did not) effectual. 
But the President had already taken some measures in the direction of repeal. As 
Lpriisi. early as the close of April" he had sent instructions to Pinkney in London, 
and Armstrong m Paris, authorizing them to offer a repeal of the Embargo 
1 certam conditions. To England such repeal was off-ered on condition of her recall- 
g her orders in Council. To France Armstrong appears to have offered, in addition 
> a repeal of the Embargo Act, a declaration of war against Great Britain in the 
^ent of her not recallmg her offensive orders after the Emperor should have with- 
:-awn his Berlin, Milan, and Bayonne decrees.' 

Canning spoke for his government in a very courteous but extremely sarcastic 
)te,aswing Mr. Pinkney of the kindly feeling of his majesty toward the United 
.ates, but expressmg his unwillingness to change the policy involved in those orders, 
ider the present aspect of the case. He could not see the impartiality of the Em- 



hX'"nrino"';:pr'^^^^^^^^ 

/other %S?than\"a7oT;;rwllhrtXr ^^^^^^^^ ^^'^^ ^ "- -'"""'o'^ -*- '" 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 171 



Canning's offensive Letter. Pinkney's Opinion of the Embargo. Silence of Napoleon, Opposition to the Embargo. 

barge which Mr, Pinkney claimed ;' nor did his majesty feel inclined to recall his 
orders while the proclamation of the President concerning the interdiction of British 
ships of war in American waters remained in full force. '^ He alluded to the timeli- 
ness of the Embargo in assisting France in her blockade of Europe, but expressed an 
unwillingness to believe that the Americans intended, or could have any interest in 
" the subversion of the British power."^ The letter concluded with a hope that a 
perfect understanding between the two governments might be maintained. But its 
tone was so ironical — so disingenuous and uncandid — so full of the spirit of a selfish 
strong man in his dealings with a weak one, that it irritated the American minister 
to whom it was addressed, and the administration that made the overture, not a 
little. 

Mr. Pinkney expressed his views strongly against a repeal of the Embargo Act in 
a letter to Mr. Madison. " The spirit of monopoly," he said, " has seized the people 
and government of this country. We shall not, under any circumsfances, be toler- 
ated as rivals in navigation and trade. ... If we persevere we must gain our pur- 
pose at last. By complying with the policy of the moment we shall be lost. By a 
qviiet and systematic adherence to principle we shall find the end of our difficulties. 
The Embargo and the loss of our trade are deeply felt here, and will be felt with 
more severity every day. The wheat harvest is likely to be alarmingly short, and the 
state of the Continent will augment the evil. The discontents among their manufac- 
turers are only quieted for a moment by temporary causes. Cotton is rising, and 
will soon be scarce. Unfavorable events on the Continent will subdue the temper, 
unfriendly to wisdom and justice, which now prevails here. But, above all, the world 
will, I trust, be convinced that our firmness is not to be shaken. Our measures have 
not been without effect. They have not been decisive, because we have not been 
thought capable of persevering in self-denial— if that can be called self-denial which 
is no more than prudent abstinence from destruction and dishonor." 

The French Emperor maintained an ominous silence on the subject. He made no 
response to Armstrong's proposition, and this reticence was quite as offensive as Can- 
ning's irony. " We have somewhat overrated our means of coercion," Armstrong 
wrote to the Secretary of State." "Here it is not felt; and in England, .August 31, 
amid the more recent and interesting events of the day, it is forgotten. I i^"^- 
hope, unless France shall do us justice, we shall raise the Embargo, and make, in its 
stead, the experiment of an armed commerce. Should she adhere to her wicked and 
foolish measures, there is much more besides that we can do ; and we ought not to 
omit doing all we can, because it is believed here that we can not do much, and even 
that we will not do what little we can." 

At home the Embargo Act met with the most violent opposition in various forms. 
It was talked against and acted against, especially by the leaders of the opposition 
in the Eastern States. They excited a very strong sectional feeling by calling it 



1 "If considered as a measure of Impartial hostility against both belligerents," wrote Mr, Canning, "the Embargo 
appears to his majesty to have been manifestly unjust, as, according to every principle of justice, the redress ought to 
have been first sought from the party originating the wrong. And his majesty can not consent to buy off that hostility, 
which America ought not to have extended to him, at the expense of a concession made, not to America, but to 

! Alluding to the failure of Eose's mission in regard to the affair of the Clmapeake, Mr. Canning, with singular un- 
fairness, remarked, speaking of the President's proclamation which that affair drew forth concemmg British vessels of 
war " The continuance of an interdiction which, under such circumstances, amounts so nearly to direct hostility, after 
the 'willingness professed, and the attempt made by his majesty to remove the cause on which that measure had been 
originally founded, would afford but an inauspicious omen for the commencement of a system of mutual conciliation ; 
and the omission of any notice of that measure in the proposal which Mr, Pinkney has been instructed to bring for- 
ward, would have been of itself a material defect in the overture of the President," ,..„.,, 

3 "By some unfortunate concurrence of circumstances," said Mr, Canning sarcastically, "without any hostile inten- 
tion the American Embargo dU come in aid of the 'blockade of the European Continent" precisely at the very moment 
when, if that blockade could have succeeded at all, this interposition of the American government would most effectual- 
ly have contributed to its success," ,. , . , Jl^-l- 1 IJ .V IXV J . . 

These words of Cannin" were caught up by the opposition in America as additional evidence that the administration 
were playing into the hands of Napoleon, and the old C17 of " French party" was vigorously revived for a while. 



2 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

ractlons of the Embargo. Attempts to make It Odious. Di.unioBJets in New E ngland. 

metimes a"Vu-ginia measure," at others a "Southern measure," and at all times a 
ubserviency to French dictation." They declared that it was a blow aimed mten- 
Qially at the prosperity of New England, she having greatly the preponderance _m 
mmercial and navigating interests; and that, while the whole country felt the in- 
ry inflicted by the Embargo Act more than England or Erance, that mjury fell 
)stly upon the Eastern States. This deceptive statement, made chiefly for political 
ect, was contradicted by the commercial statistics of the United States.^ 
Infractions of the Embargo were open and frequent all along the New England 
ast for the magistrates winked at them; and smuggling became so general, es- 
cially by way of Lake Champlain, that the first active services of the newly-cre- 
sd army were enforcements of the laws on the Northern frontier, under the direc- 
)n of Wilkinson, while gun-boats were sent into several of the Eastern ports for 
e same purpose. The leaders of the opposition, hoping to break down the Demo- 
itic party, made the Embargo Law as odious as possible, cast obstacles in the way 

its execution, and used every means to induce England to believe that it was so 
:popular that it would be speedily repealed in the face of the continuance of her 
ders in Council. "They are now playing a game," the President wrote, "of the 
3St mischievous tendency, without perhaps being themselves aware of it. They are 
deavoring to convince England that we suffer more from the Embargo than they 
1, and if they will but hold out a while we must abandon it. It is true, the time will 
me when we must abandon it. But if this is before the repeal of the orders in 
mncil, we must abandon it only for a state of war. The day is not distant when 
at will be preferable to a longer continuance of the Embargo. But we can never 
move that, and let our vessels go out and be taken under these orders, without 
aking reprisals. Yet this is the very state of things which these Federal monarch- 
is are endeavoring to bring about ; and in this it is but too possible they may suc- 
ed. But the fact is, if we have war with England, it will be solely produced by 
ese manoeuvres."^ 

An " Anglican party," a mere political myth in former years, was now a practical 
ality.' 

Another foi-m of opposition to the Embargo was a declaration of several eminent 
wyers of Massachusetts that it was unconstitutional; and very soon the doctrine of 
e Virginia nullifiers, as put forth in the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions of 1798, 

decidedly condemned by the Federalists as tending directly to disunion, was speed- 
T proclaimed by that same party all over New England as being orthodox. When 
was known that the party was defeated, and that Madison was elected President, 
e unpatriotic cry of disunion was heard throughout New England, in the deceptive 
cents of proclamations that a state, as such, has a right to declare void any act of 
e National Congress that might be deemed unconstitutional. That doctrine was 

boldly proclaimed in the Eastern States as it had been in Virginia and the South 
n years before.* The arguments used by the Virginia nullifiers and secessionists in 

According to ofacial tables, the value of the exports of the TJuited States from 1T91 to 1S13 was $1,343,047,000. Of 
s ainount the exports of the Eastern, Middle, and Southern States were in value as follows: 

Five Eastern States $299,192,000 

Four Middle States 634,766,000 

Six Southern States and District of Columbia 809,089,000 

for the New England States less than one fourth of the whole amount. 

' Jefferson to Dr. Lieh, of Philadelphia, June 23, 180S. 

' The following clause in a resolution adopted at a public meeting in Topsfleld, Massachusetts, on the 15th of Janu- 

j, 1807, expressed the seitiments, and illustrated the actions of a large class of Americans at that time : "This assem- 

j can not refrain from expressing its conviction that neither the honor nor the permanent interests of the United 

ites require that we should drive Great Britain, if it were in our power, to the surrender of those claims [right of 

irch, impress, and confiscation] so essential to her in the mighty conflict in which she is at present engaged — a con- 

!t interesting to humanity, to morals, to religion,- and the last struggle of liberty." 

1 A memorial from the town of Bath, in Maine, to the Massachusetts Legislature, dated December 27, 1808, contained 

3 following resolution : " That a respectful address be forwarded in the name of the people of this town to the Legis- 
lore of this commonwealth, stating to them the wrongs and grievances we already suffer, and the painful apprehen- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. I'js 



The dangerons Wea pons of Party Strife. State Sovereignty proclaimed In New England. An Enforcing Act. 

1798 against the Alien and Sedition laws were used in New England in 1808 against 
the Embargo laws. Happily we are far enough removed from the din of that old 
conflict of parties to view the contest dispassionately, and perceive that we can, with 
just charity, declare that these New England leaders were no more real disunionists 
at heart than were Jeiferson and Madison, and that both parties, having confidence in 
the people, ventured to use dangerous weapons in their partisan strife for the suprem- 
acy, feeling, as Jefferson said in his inaugural address, already cited, that there was 
safety in tolerating a great error "when reason is left free to combat it." 

The second session of the Tenth Congress was commenced on the 1th of Novem- 
ber," and, at the earliest possible moment after the organization, the opposition 
opened their batteries upon the Embargo in various forms. In both houses 
motions for a repeal or modification of the act were presented, and long and warm 
debates ensued. But in both houses there was a decided inajority in favpr of sustain- 
ing the measure, and these were supported by resolutions in favor of the Embargo 
passed by the Legislatures of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Vir- 
ginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. The whole country was agitated by the discus- 
sion of the question, and in private and public assemblies the great inaiibus upon 
commerce was the topic which occupied all minds, and shaped the tenor of general 
conversation. 

The history of parties, their tactics and manoeuvres, their struggles and animosities 
at that time, bearing as they do, more or less directly, upon the subject of this vol- 
ume, form a very interesting chapter in the chronicles of the nation for the student 
of our history. Our plan and space do not admit of even an outline narrative of those 
purely partisan conflicts, and we must pass on to a rapid considei:ation of events which 
speedily caused war between the United States and Great Britain. 

The policy of the administration being fully sustained, more stringent measures for 
enforcing the Embargo were adopted. The Enforcing Act, as it was called, caused 
such opposition and exasperation in New England, that action among the j)eoj)le and 
in State Legislatures assumed the aspect of incipient rebellion. Then it was that dis- 
union sentiments, just alluded to, were freely uttered in nearly all the region eastward 
of the longitude of the Hudson River. Many wise men began to regard civil war as 
possible, if not inevitable. Some weak-kneed members of the administration party in 
Congress were disturbed by the mutterings of the thunder indicating an approaching 

sione we experience of speedily having our calamity increased by the addition of still more restrictive and arbitrary 
laws; expressing to them our approbation of the measures they have already adopted upon the subject, and requesting 
them to take such other immediate steps for relieving the people, either by themselves alone or in concert with other 
commercial states, as the exti'aordinary circumstances of our situation require." 

In Gloucester, Massachusetts, a town meeting resolved, on the 12th of January, 1S09, "that to our state government we 
look for counsel, protection, and relief at this awful period -of general calamity." 

The people of Boston, in a memorial dated January 26, 1S09, said : " Our hope and consolation rest vrith the Legisla- 
ture of our state, to whom it is competent to devise means of relief against the unconstitutional measures of the general 
government ; that your power is adequate to this object is evident from the organization of the confederacy." 

The opposition press uttered many violent and inflammatory appeals to the people. A hand-bill was circulated in 
Newburyport which contained the following sentences: "Let every man who holds the name of America dear to him . 
■ stretch forth his hand and put this accursed thing, the Embaeoo, from him. Be resolute ; act like the sons of liberty, 
of God, and of your country; nerve your arms vrith vengeance against the despot who would wrest the inestimable 
gem of your independence from yon, and you shall beconquerors !" 

"We know," said the Boston Repertory, "if the Enibargo be not removed, our citizens will ere long set its penalties 
and restrictions at defiance. It behooves us to apeak, ibr glrike we must if speaking does not answer." 

"It is better to suffer the amputation of alimb [meaning the severance of New England from the Union"], said the 
Boston Gazette, " than to lose the whole body. We must prepare for the operation. Wherefore, then, is New England 
asleep ? Wherefore does she submit to the oppression of enemies in tJie South t Have we no Moses who is inspired by the 
God of our fathers, and will ZcodiMoirfo/.Bff'M't?" .^ ^. , .„ . ^^ 

"This perpetual Embargo," said Eussell, in the Boston Cmtinel, ' ' bemg unconstitutional, every man will perceive that 
he U not tound to regard it, bwtmay send hUproduce or merchandise to a foreign market in the same manner as if the gm>- 
emimmt hud never undertaken to prohibit it. If the petitions do not produce a relaxation or removal of the Embargo, the 
people ought to immediately assume a higher tone. The government of Massachusetts has also a duty to perform. The 
state is still amiereign and independent." , , , ■^,. , ,■ ' j, ..r. ..x,. t, v 

The above passages have been cited to give an idea of the state of public feeling under the pressure of the Embargo. 
Never had the patriotism of the people greater temptations than at the gloomy period of utter commercial stagnation 
or ruinous fluctuation from 1808 to 1S12, inclusive of those years. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 




argo or War the prod aimed Alternative. Quincy lashes the War Party. Effe cts of his Denunciations. 

ipest, and, for the purpose of pacifying the discontented people, the majority passed 
Ly 19 an act^ appointing the last Monday in May following as the time for the 
^- ' assembling of the new Congress, when a repeal of the Embargo would 
ur and the alternative of war with Great Britain be accepted. 

This postponement of the repeal and 
the expressed intention of going to war 
called forth from Quincy,^ the Federal 
leader in the lower House, a most with- 
ering, denunciatory speech — a speech 
that stung the dominant party to the 
quick, and rankled like a thorn for a 
long time. He treated their assertion 
that war would be the alternative of re- 
peal with the most bitter scorn. He had 
heard enough of that " eternal clamor," 
he said, and, if he could help it, the old 
women of the country should no longer 
be frightened by the unsubstantial bug- 
bear. He taunted them with cowardice,, 
and declared his conviction that no in- 
sult, however gross, that might be offer- 
ed by France or Great Britain, could 
force the majority into a declaration of 
war. " To use a coarse but common ex- 
f ^^^^rjia pression," he said, " they could not be 
: («>r^c<r»-*'^ kicked into a war." He declared that 
''- — ^ all the oificers for the new army were 
rtisans of the administration. " If the intention had been," he said, " to unite the 
tion as one man against a foreign enemy, is not this the last policy which any ad- 
nistration ought ever to have adopted ? Is not a party army the most dreadfiil 
cl detestable of all engines, the most likely to awaken suspicions and to inspire dis- 
itent ?" He then sneered at the idea of going to war with England— the great 
iritime power of the world— with " but one frigate and five sloops in commission," 
die the administration had not " resolution enough to meet the expenses of the 
Itry little navy rotting in the Potomac !" 

Quincy's lash stirred up a strong war feeling throughout the Democratic party, 
d stimulated the administration to more vigorous efforts for increasing the army 
d navy. The Southern members, with Williams, of South Carolina, at their head, 

Josiah Quincy was born in Bostofl, Massachusetts, on the 4th of February, 1TT2. He was eflucated at Harvard Uni- 
sity, in Cambridge, where he was graduated in 1790. He entered upon the practice of the law in Boston. In 1804 he 
! elected to a seat in the National Congi'ess, and held that position eight successive years. In 1813 he declined a te- 
:tion. He was chosen a senator from Suffolk, and was a representative in the upper House of the Legislature of _ 
ssachusetts for four successive years. He was speaker of the lower House in 1820, and the following year was ap- 
uted judge of the Municipal Court of Boston. In 1823 he was chosen mayor of that city, and held the office six con- 
utive years, when he declined a re-election. He was chosen president of Harvard Univereity in 1829, and held that 
lorable position until his resignation in 1845, from which time he enjoyed leisure in private life, but always actively 
re to events around. 

Ir. Quincy was an author of reputation, his most considerable works being A History ofBarrard Unioeraitii, in two 
umes, with illustrations by his daughter ; Memoir of his father <Josiah Quincy) and others ; A Kemon'o! Eiatory of 
iton, etc. Mr. Quincy lived until the 2d day of July, 1864, when he died at his country seat in Quincy, Massachusetts, 
;he ninety-third year of his age. He and the late Lord Lyndhurst (son of Copley, the painter) were bom in Boston 
the same night, and the same physician attended both mothers. 

'he writer visited him when he was in his ninetieth year, and had the pleasure and proflt of his conversation con- 
ning past days; and when he spoke of having a distinct recollection of being carried out of Boston by way of the 
tish fortifications on the Neck In 1775, and undergoing a purification by sulphur vapor on account of small-pox in 
city, I seemed to be talking with a patriarch Indeed— a man whose memory embraced the stirring events of much 
;he two centuries. He was bom at the opening of the jnst rebellion of a great people against real tyranny, and lived 
ipeak patriotic words in condemnation of a most nurighteons rebellion of a few demagogues against, as one of their 
mber had but recently said, " the most beneficent government onthe face of the earth." _. 



^/y^^ ^ec4^ <Jf^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 175 



Cotton BuppoBed to be King of Commerce. Non-intercourse Act. Signs of Beconciliation. 

vehemently opposed every expenditure for the navy. That violent sectionalist, with 
the shallowness and selfishness of his class, could perceive no other American interest 
but that of cotton worth fighting for or preserving. The " transit duty" imposed upon 
neutral merchandise by a late action of the British government was the chief object 
of his ire and assault, and because of that measure he was eager to go to war. Daz- 
zled by the increase of the cotton trade, he believed that product of Cai-olina to be 
the King of Commerce, around which all other interests should revolve as satellites 
or courtiers. " The great staple," he said, " of the country — cotton — worth more than 
any two others, is coerced into Great Britain, and is absolutely prohibited from re- 
exportation altogether. . . . You are to raise cotton to carry to the British domin- 
ions, and nowhere else ! What does this amount to ? Any thing short of the as- 
sumption of the sovereignty of the soil ? And yet gentlemen can not see any cause 
of war ! All the objections made to war with Great Britain — want of revenue, want 
of ships, want of objects of attack, destruction of commerce, danger to our liberties 
from standing armies — are nothing but disguises for want of patriotism, and con- 
temptible cowardice." 

Yet, when Joseph Story, the afterward eminent jurist, with a broader statesman- 
ship, a wiser forecast, and a true national patriotism, suggested a fleet of fifty fast- 
sailing frigates for the protection oi all the industrial interests of the United States, 
and the support of the dignity and independence of the government, scarcely a man 
was to be found from the region southward of the Delaware to second his views ; 
and Williams declared that if the rights of America were only so to be saved, he was 
for abandoning them at once. " Impatient as he was to fight for the rights of the 
cotton-growers, he had not the least idea of going to war for the rights of ship-owners. 
While urging the navigating interest to submit quietly to destruction, in hopes of 
forcing a "wider market for cotton, he declaimed with the most perfect unconscious- 
ness about the self-sacrifice of the South and the selfishness of the JVbrth/"^ — a most 
untruthful and ungenerous assertion, which has been constantly repeated ever since 
by unscrupulous demagogues for selfish purposes, to the material injury of the whole 
country, and especially of the slave-labor states. 

The outside pressure upon the administration against the Embargo Act became 
too great for resistance, and on the 1st of March, 1809, it was repealed. As a pacific 
countervailing measure, to induce the European belligerents to respect the rights of 
neutrals, a Non-intercourse Act was passed, by which the commerce of America was 
opened to all the world except to England and France, and British and French ships 
of war were equally excluded prospectively from American ports. This measure was 
denounced by the opposition with more bitterness, if possible, than the Embargo Act. 
It was declared to be actual war in disguise — a cowardly obedience to French man- 
dates — an attempt to produce hostilities with Great Britain at the instigation and 
for the benefit of Napoleon. Strange as it may appear to us, this foolish bugbear— 
this Gallic mask of demagogues for disturbing the nerves of the timid— was still efiect- 
"ive, and the country was so agitated by the alarmists that the paralysis of industry 
continued. The wings of partially-released commerce fluttered timidly in harbors, 
because its imagination pictured whole bevies of war-hawks abroad. 

Relief soon came, and the doves of peace whitened the horizon. For some time 
the administration, persuaded of the incompetence of the Embargo to efiect its in- 
tended purposes, had been unofficially negotiating with Mr. Erskine, the British min- 
ister resident at Washington, for a settlement of the disputes between the two gov- 
ernments, and Mr. Madison took the Presidential chair on the 4th of March,_ vacated 
by Mr. Jefferson, with a sanguine expectation that the beginning of his administration 
would be signalized by some promise of peace and prosperity for his country. 



1 Hildreth's History of the United States, Second Series, Hi., 12(5. 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Erskine'B Proposition. 



A jnst Arrangement. 



General Satisfaction. 



Disappearance of Party Strife. 




Mr. Erskine had made such representations 
to his government that Mr. Canning instruct- 
ed him to offer to propose to the Americans 
a reciprocal repeal of all the prohibitory 
laws upon certain conditions. But these 
conditions were so partial to England — re- 
quiring the Americans to submit. to tfee de- 
tested "rule of 1756," and to allow British 
cruisers to capture all American vessels at- 
tempting to trade with France— that they 
were rejected. But an arrangement was 
speedily made, by which, upon the orders in 
Council being recalled, the President should 
issue a proclamation declaring a restoration 
of commercial intercourse with Great Brit- 
ain, but leaving all restrictive laws against 
Prance in full force. Mr. Erskine offered, 
in addition, reparation for the insult and in- 
jury in the case of the Chesapeake, and also 
assured the American government that Great 
Britain would immediately send over an en- , 
voy extraordinary " invested with full pow- 
8 to conclude a treaty on all points of the relations between the two governments." 
This arrangement was completed on the 18th of April. =■ On the following 
'"'■ day the Secretary of State received a note from Mr. Erskine, saying, " I am 
ithorized to declare that his majesty's orders in Council of January and November, 
iOY, will have been withdrawn, as respects the United States, on the tenth day of 
me next." On the same day President Madison (only forty-four days after his in- 
auguration) issued a proclamation'' declaring that trade with Great Britain 
'^" ^' might be renewed after the tenth day of the following June.^ 
This proclamation was hailed with the greatest joy throughout the United States 
an omen of brighter days. The voice of partisan strife was hushed, and President 
adison was lauded as the representative of the whole American people, and not of 
party only. He was toasted and praised by the Federalists, invited to their feasts, 
id hailed as a Washingtonian worthy of all confidence. The foolish idea of" French 
fluence" was dispelled^ and every body indulged in millennial anticipations. En- 
and was lauded for her generosity and magnanimity, and in the House of Repre- 
ntatives John Randolph offered the following resolution on the 2d of May : "i2e- 
Ived, That the promptitude and frankness with which the President of the United 
iates has met the overtures of the government of Great Britain toward a restoration 
' harmony and freer commercial intercourse between the two nations meet the ap- 
•obation of this House." The warmest Federalists supported the resolution, and a 
mtemporary says that the praise of the President by his former political enemies 
as so universal that "the Democrats grew jealous. They were afraid of losing the 
;tachment of the President, whose election they had made such exertions to secure." 
The joy of the Americans was brief On the 31st of July Mr. Erskine communi- 
ited to the President the mortifying fact that his government had refused to affirm 
s an-angement. This refusal was made ostensibly because the minister had exceed- 

i After tlie nsnal preamble citing the action between the government and " the Honorable David Montague Erskine, 
J majesty's envoy extraordinai^," he said, " Now, therefore, I, James Madison, President of the United States, do 
reby proclaim, that the orders in Council aforesai9 will have been withdrawn on the said tenth day of June next; 
;er which day the trade of the United States with Great Britain, as suspended by the act of Congress above mentioned, 
act laying an embargo on all ships and vessels in the ports and harbors of the United States, and the several acts 
pplementary thereto, may be renewed." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. i>j>j 



ErBkine'3 Arra ngements repudiated by his Government. The Bnppoaed EeaBona. Farty Eancor again revived. 

ed his instructions, and was not authorized to make any such arrangement. It was 
charged that this was not the true reason, because the arrangement as made was 
perfectly just to both parties, and more favorable to England than to the United 

• btates 1 o America it offered simply a repeal of the orders in Council and atone- 
ment tor the outrage on the Chesapeake; to England it offered a restoration of all 
the advantages of a vast and valuable commerce, and a continuance of non-inter- 
course between the United States and France. The most plausible . conjectures for 
the disavowal of an arrangement so desirable were, first, that the implied censure of 
the British government respecting the conduct of Admiral Berkeley, contained in 
one of the letters of the Secretary of State to Mr. Erskine,' so irritated the old mon- 
arch, who had always hated the Americans, that he refused his assent ; secondly, that 
the recent violent proceedings in New England in relation to the enforcement of the 
Embargo Act deceived the British ministry into the belief that the American gov- 
ernment would be compelled by popular clamor to repeal the Embargo, and leave 
England's restrictive policy unimpaired. To the comprehension of the writer the 
true reason for the rejection may be found in the fact that such an arrangement 
would mterfere m a deep-laid scheme to break up the American Union, by fomenting 
sectional antagonisms based chiefly upon the clashing of apparently diverse interests. 
Two years later it was discovered that the British authorities in Canada had an ac- 
credited agent in Boston for that purpose, the British government ignorantly sup- 
posing the opposition of the Federalists to be real disloyalty. ^ Whatever may have 
been the true reason for the rejection, the historical fact remains that England spurn- 
ed the olive-branch so confidingly offered. The orders in Council stood unrepealed, 
Mr. Erskine was recalled,^ and a proclamation of the President of the United States' 
dated 9th of August,- 1809, declared the Non-intercourse Act to be again in full force 
in regard to Great Britain. The British government also issued orders to protect 
from capture such American vessels as had left the United States in consequence of 
the President's proclamation of April preceding. 

The blessings of the opposition, so freely showered upon the administration when 
the blossoms of May and the leaves of June were unfolding, returned to their bosoms, 
and at the season of the harvest-moon curses flowed out as freely. It was charged 
that Madison and his Cabinet were acquainted with Canning's instructions to Er»- 
skine ; that they knew the latter had exceeded his instructions, and that there was 
no expectation of the arrangement being confirmed by the British government ; and 
that the whole affair was a pitiful trick of the administration to cast the odium of 
continued restrictions upon commerce from their own shoulders upon that of the 
British ministry. The partisan war was soon revived in all its rancor. 

Francis James Jackson, who had been the British minister at Copenhagen in 1807, 
succeeded Mr. Erskine. He was an unscrupulous diplomat, and, because of his com- 
plicity in the unwarrantable attack by British land and naval forces upon the capital 
of Denmark in early September, 1 80 V, he was known as " Copenhagen Jackson."* The 

1 Secretary Eobert Smith, in a letter to Mr. Brslcine on the 17th of April, said, " I have it in express charge from the 
President to state that, while he forbears to insist on a farther punishment of the offending officer, he is not the less 
sensible of the justice and utility of such an example, nor the less persuaded that it would best comport with what is 
due from his Britannic majesty to his own honor." 

' For an account of this matter, see Chapter XI. of this work. 

3 Mr. Erskine was the eldest son of the celebrated English orator and lord chancellor. In the year 1800 he married the 
daughter of General John Cadwalader, of Philadelphia, with whom he lived until 1S43, when she died. His eldest son 
he named Thomas Americus, and is still living, I believe, the successor to his father's title. In 1848 Lord Erskine mar- 
ried again. This wife died in April, 1851, and he again married in December, 1852. His last wife was the widow of 
Thomas Calderwood Durham, Esq., of Largo and Palton. He had children only by his first wife. He succeeded to 
his father's titles in 1823. He was educated for the law at Trinity College, Cambridge, but was much of his life in dip- 
lomatic sei-vice. He was British envoy at Washington from 1806 to 1810, and afterward represented his country at the 
courts of Wurtemberg and Bavaria. In 1843 he retired from public life, and died on the 19th of March, 1855. 

* The British government strongly suspected that Denmark would acquiesce in the dictates of the French emperor, 
and become the ally of the conqueror. If so, the Danish fleet would fall into his hands, and England's life might be im- 
periled. She therefore sent a formidable armament to the Baltic, accompanied by Jackson as envoy extraordinary, to 
negotiate with the Danish government, the basis of which was an English protectorate of Danish neutrality, on condi- 

M 



178 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 

" Copenliagen Jackson" and his Misconduct. Proposed Eevocation of the French Decrees. Napoleon on Armstrong. 

infamy of that affair made every person connected with it odious to the people of the 
United States. It was a foul blot upon the boasted civilization and Christianity of 
Great Britain ; and the sending of Jackson, who had been a conspicuous actor in the 
tragedy, as minister to WashLogton while causes for serious irritation between the 
two governments existed, was regarded as a meditated insult by the extreme mem- 
bers of the dominant party. ; 

Jackson was received with cool courtesy, but his deportment soon excited the 
thorough dislike of those with whom he came in contact. He was insolent, irritable, 
and quarrelsome. He had an unbounded admiration of the greatness of the people 
he represented, and a corresponding contempt for the people he had been sent to. 
He regarded the Americans as an inferior people, and treated the officers of govern- 
ment with the hauteur which he had practiced toward weak and bleeding Denmark 
when he negotiated with her at the mouths of British cannon. His manners were so 
offensive that, after the second verbal conference with him. Secretary Smith refused 
any farther correspondence except in writing. The insolent diplomat was offended, 
and wrote an impudent letter to the secretary. He was soon informed that no far- 
ther communications would be received from him. Disappointed and angry, he left 
Washington, with every member of his diplomatic family, and retired to New York' 
The American government requested his recall, and early in 1810 he was summoned 
back to England. But his government manifested the greatest indifference as to its 
relations with the United States. The request for his recall was received with the 
most perfect coolness, and no other minister was sent to Washington until early in 
1811. 

•March. -^ ^^^ ®^^"^y P^""* of 1810,^ the President received intimations from abroad 
that a way was probably opened for a repeal of the restrictive orders and 
decrees. M. de Champagny (Duke de Cadore), the French Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs, in a letter to Minister Armstrong, said that if England would revoke her block- 
ade against France, the latter would revoke her Berlin Decree.^ Minister Pinkney, 
still in London, on receiving this information, approached the British ministry on the 
subject, and he expressed to his own government his hope that the restrictive meas- 
ures of the belligerents would be speedily removed.^ To aid in negotiations to that 
efiect. Congress, on the 1st of May, 1810, repealed the Non-intercourse and Non-im- 
portation laws, and substituted an act excluding both British and French armed ves- 
sels from the waters of the United States. It farther provided that, in case either 
toeat Britam or France should so revoke or modify its a cts before the'sd of March, 

e™t"eiecte1 ttrs'^L''ra,^rlnoi»,'''"i*, VO.^^^f^ the termination of the war with France. The Danishl^v"- 
'shTmaSf of twenty fev^^^^ "^^^^ *" ''^^'^ »f ^ """f^'. ^dependent nation, whereupon the Irit- 

mira GaSer aSS cXart Ll^^^^^ * ^'^'"'"' ""'"'*°'^ '^"^ '™°P«' °°'i«'' t^e respect ve commands of Ad- 
Zl'^r'e'i:Ced and"^^^^ It?!'"''' cathedral, many pub?ic buildings and private 

A great part of the citv waa rntimmpfl ™^L « A ^^ "'-" ^"^ °° *™ f™™ *he 2d until the 6th of Septemher. 

pitulation, and issued a declaration of war aSt Enrfanfl ^n«^^^- D''"'«»' g»™""nent reflised to ratify the ca- 
also declared war asainst Ensland »nfl i»=n£f J*°faiid. Eussia, mdignant at the shameful treatment of Denmark, 
ships a^d property ^ ' ™'^ " '"''°''''"' °° '''« »'»'' of October ordering the destruction of all British 

to;kSs:tSronuh::ett'of^r;^^^^^^^^ ' 

ionahle place of resort. ' *™'''^' ** '^^ V^^^nt Manhattanville, now Jones's Hotel, a fash- 

^^^^l^^ol^Xl^^M^'l^i^T^^ ■''"""'y' ^810 in^«-"-oa» SU.U I^s. The manner of the cor- 
ure of the Emperor, X ™te t^M^e rl» J,? government at this time appears to have excited the hot displeas- 
"Mo«Bi„m, ii™i!!, n ^' ^"^Pagny on the 19th of Jannaiy, 1810, as follows- 

ofthtgTth^onTre:not"Sp-;S'»d""?:r"e^^^^^^^ lU. beyo7/all ridicnlous that he writes 

we can understand Howie itXHr.ff.i.^"^- f "^f should write in English, but at length, and in a manner that 
to the secretary who iltoe speak alsfZhlTT**"'^"^™^^^^ SP^''^ 

ordinary a dispatch in cipher trmakfthem SLerI.7tr t°*i' ?""''' ''"1™^/™" America. Send by a courier eztra- 
don't miderstand French-fs a morose man wUh wh!, ' *'"" Sovemment is not represented here ; that its minister 

an envoy to talk with. Write in detail n?;,"* II?'"" T^ "™ ,""' ^"''^ ' *"' *" <'1'«"«=1«« "'O"" "e removed if we had 
the XInited States-what hrs bSn do 'e^nfltrf ' ^' T ''°'"' ""''^* ^^^'^ "'^ '^""^ f™™ Altenburg has had in 
may know what a fool has been sent here '' P^'^vosei. Write to America in such manner that the Presideat 

3 Letter of Pinkney to the Secretary of State. February 28, 1810, in An^an State Pa„„s. N-o..o»." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. I'rg 



The Berlin and Milan Decrees revoked. The British Orders in Council maintained. 

1811, as that they should cease to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, 
and if the other nation should not, within three months thereafter, in like manner re- 
voke or modify its edicts, the provisions of the Non-intercourse and Non-importation 
laws should, at the expiration of the three months, be revived against the nation neg- 
lecting or refusing to comply. * 

When this act was communicated to the French government, M. de Champagny 
addressed a note to Minister Armstrong, dated 5th of August, 1810, olfieially declar- 
ing that " the decrees of Berlin and Milan are revoked, and that after the first day 
of the following November they will cease to have efiect ; it being understood that, 
in consequence of this declaration, the English shall revoke their orders in Council, 
and renounce the new principles of blockade which they have wished to establish, 
or that the United States, conformably to their law, will cause their rights to be re- 
spected by the English." This was explicit, and the President doubted not it was_ 
sincere. TTherefore, in accordance with the provisions of the act of the 1st of May, 
he issued a proclamation on the 2d of November announcing this revocation of the 
French decrees, and declaring the discontinuance, on the part of the United States, 
of all commercial restrictions in relation to France and her dependencies. On the 
same day the Secretary of the Treasury' issued an order to all collectors of the cus- 
toms to act in conformity with the President's proclamation, but to enforce against 
English war vessels, and against her commerce, the law of May* after the . ji^y i, 
2d of the following February, unless, meanwhile, information should be re- i^^"- 
ceived by the President of the revocation of her orders in Council. 

The United States had been made to doubt Gallic faith. Professing to be indig- 
nant at what seemed to be partiality shown to England by the Americans in their 
restrictive acts, Bonaparte had caused the seizure and confiscation of many American 
vessels and their cargoes. Armstrong remonstrated from time to time, and finally, 
when notified that a large number of these vessels were to be sold, he presented a 
vigorous protest," and recapitulated the many aggressions which American ^ ^^^^ ^^ 
commerce had sufiered from French cruisers. This just remonstrance was 
ungenerously responded to by a decree, issued by the Emperor from Rambouillet on 
the 23d of March, 1810, which declared that " all American vessels which should en- 
ter French ports, or ports occupied by French troops, should be seized and seques- 
tered." Under this decree, many American vessels and millions of American prop- 
erty were seized. But it was supposed that the proclamation of the President on the 
2d of November would annul these hostile proceedings, and release the vessels. On 
the contrary, the French government simply suspended the causes in the Council of 
Prizes" until February, 1811, in order to ascertain whether the United . p^^^^j^gj ^s. 
States would enforce the proclamation of November agaiijst Great Brit- 
ain. At the same time the French government abstained from furnishing the Amer- 
ican government with formal ofiicial evidence of any decree relating to the revoca- 
tion of former edicts, and the whole matter rested upon the simple letter of ^ ^^^^ ^ 
the Duke of Cadore (Champagny) to Mr. Armstrong." 

Great Britain took advantage of this fact, and resisted the application to re- 
scind her orders, on the ground that she was furnished with no evidence that the 
decrees had been rescinded, because the French government had never promulgated 
any edict for this revocation. But she had the evidence of the French minister's ex- 
plicit declaration, on which the action of the United States government was based, 
as well as a general order of the French government to the Director General of Cus- 
toms" not to apply the Berlin and Milan Decrees to American vessels , December 25. 
entering French ports after the 1st of November, 1810. These oificial 
declarations of the French government were sufiicient for the United States, and 
should have been for Great Britain, for, if faith could not have been placed in them, 
decrees from the same source would have had little value. But France and England 



180 PICTOEIAL PIELD-BOOK 

England and France refase to. be just. Friendly Proposition of the United States unheeded. 

were playing sucli a desperate Igame, that they not only rightfully suspected each 
other of duplicity continually, but doubted the sincerity of the United States, al- 
though that government had never, in the smallest degree, broken its faith with ei- 
ther. England refused to recall her orders in Council; Bonaparte refused to make 
any indemnity for the seizures under the Bayonne and Rambouillet Decrees, and 
American commerce was left in a state of the most painful suspense. 

Having exhausted all arguments in endeavoring to convince the British ministry 
of the reality of the French revocation,^ and to effect a recall of the orders, Mr. Pink- 
ney left England and returned home, satisfied that, while she could sustain herself in 
the prosecution of the war, she would never yield an iota of her power to oppress the 
weak. At this very time, spumed as they had been, the United States proceeded to 
open another door of reconciliation, by an act of Congress providing that, in case at 
any time " Great Britain should revoke or modify her edicts, as that they shall cease 
to violate the neutral commerce of the United States, the President of the United 
States should declare the fact by proclamation, and that the restrictions previously 
imposed should, from the date of such proclamation, cease and be discontinued. "^ 

To this friendly proposition England was deaf. She would listen to no appeals to 
her justice or her magnanimity. For long years she had been the aggressor and the 
oppressor, and yet she refused to heed the kindly voice of her best friend when it 
pleaded for simple justice. At that very time she was exercising, by the might of I 
her navy, the most despotic sway upon the ocean, and committing incessant injuries 
upon a friendly power. She had, at that time, impressed from the crews of Ainerican 
merchant vessels, peaceably navigating the high seas, not less than six thousaito 
MAEiNBES who claimed to be citizens of the United States, and who were denied all 
opportunity to verify their claims. She had seized and confiscated the commercial 
property of American citizens to an incalculable amount. She had united in the 
enormities of France in declaring a great proportion of the terraqueous globe in a 
state of blockade, effectually chasing the American merchant from the ocean, -^he 
had contemptuously disregarded the neutrality of the American territory, and the 
jurisdiction of the American laws within the waters and harbors of the United States. 
She was enjoying the emoluments of a surreptitious trade, stained with every species 
of fraud and corrruption, which gave to the belligerent powers the advantage of a 
peace, while the neutral powers were involved in the evils of war. She had in short 
usurped and exercised on the water a tyranny similar to that which her great antag- 
onist had usurped and exercised on the land. And, amid all these proofs of ambition 
and avarice, she demanded that the victims of her usurpations and her violence should 
revere her as the sole defender of the rights and liberties of mankind '^ 

At about the time when Mr. Pinkney left England, Augustus J. Foster, who had 
•Febraaryis, Deen secretary to the British legation at Washington, was appointed* 
^ f ^ • ^°/7 extraordinary to the United States, charged with the settlement 
ot the affair of the Chesapeake and other matters in dispute between the two gov- 
ernments.* He had just fairly entered upon the duties of his peaceful mission, when 
an event occurred that produced great complications and ill feelings. 

in ChamprlysTiS^^^^^^^^^ made a strong point of the fact that one of the conditions 

3 See Dallas's Expo^itwn oftlu. Cmaea and 'character of the late War. 

ernm^wTtllt ofZ?™ ^d att^^^^^^^^^ f'' ^-^^-^ "^ ?>« ""^t P-Wc feelings of their gov- 

of any indisposition to keewTfrknaiv fl^nlolf^f^^ ? A Img the place caused by the recall of Jackson was not because 
also from late inte^ptions to SKl^s ol^l t'„°^^' °' '??.*■ ^IT '» °""^^ ^ satisfactory appointment, and 

announcedhisconii™fdinsa^;!C/ontr«ro?^ry^fsn:^r^^^^^ 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



181 



Outrage by a British Cruiser. 



Commodore Bodgers. 



The Frigate President ordered to Sea. 



Since the favorable arrangement with France, British cruisers hovering upon the 
American coast had become more and more annoying to commerce. A richly-laden 
American vessel bound to France had been captured within thirty miles of New 
York ;i and early ia the month of May a British frigate, stipposed to be the Gner- 
riere, Captain Dacres, stopped an American brig only eighteen miles from New York, 
and a young man, known to be a native of Maine, was taken from her and impressed 
into the British service.^ Similar iastances had lately occurred, and the government 
resolved to send out one or two of the new frigates^ immediately for the protection 
of the coast trade from the depredators. ' 

The IVesiclent, Captain Ludlow, was then anchored off Fort Severn,* at Annapolis, 




FOBT OB BATTEBT BBVEEN, AT AMMAPOLIS. 

bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Rodgers, the senior officer of the navy. 
The commodore was with his family at Havre de Grace, seventy miles distant ;^ the 
Presidents sailing-master was at Baltimore, forty miles distant ; her purser and chap- 
lain were at "Washington, an equal distance from their posts, and all was listlessness 
on board the frigate, for no sounds of war were in the air. Suddenly, at three o'clock 
in the afternoon of the Tth of May, while Captain Ludlow was dining on board the 
sloop-of-war Argus, lying near the President, the gig was seen, about five miles dis- 
tant, sailing at the rate of ten miles an hour, with the commodore's broad pennant 
flying, denoting that he was on board.^ Rodgers was soon on the President's quar- 
ter-deck. He had received orders* from his government to put to sea at once . jiay6, 
in search of the offending British vessel, and on the 10th he weighed anchor 



1811. 



Fourth, went before the Privy Council in great state, and was sworn in as regent of the kingdom. He held that office 
until the death of his father in 1820, when he became king. 

1 Hildreth, Second Series, iii., 24S. 

2 Although the sea was running high, the captain of the Spitfire (the arrested brig) went with the yonng man on board 
the frigate, and assured the commander that he had known him from boyhood as a native of Maine. The Insolent reply 
was, " All that may be so, bnt he has no protection, and that is enough for me. "—Sew York Herald, May 11, 1811. 

= The American navy then in active service consisted of the President, Constitution, and United States, 44 each ; the Es- 
sex, 33 ; John Adams, 24 ; Wasp and Hornet, 18 each ; Argus and Siren, 16 each ; Nautilus, Enterprise, and Vixm, :^each ; 
and a large flotilla of gun-boats, commanaed principally by sailing-masters selected from the officers of merchpt ves- 
sels.— Cooper, ii., 118. 

* The present Fort or Battery Severn, composed of a circular base and hexagonal tower, js upon the site of a fort of 
the same name, erected, with other fortifications, in 1TT6. It was then little more than a group of breast-works. These 
were strengtliened at the beginning of the war in 1812. The present fort, seen in the picture, is rather a naval than a 
military work, its principal use being for a practice-battery for the 'students in the Naval Academy there, and for the de- 
fense of the naval arsenal, school, and officers' quarters. That academy (which was removed to Newport, Rhode Island, 
on the breaking out of the civil war in the spring of 1861, and its buildings at Annapolis used fophospital purposes dur- 
ing the conflict) was to the navy what the West Point Academy is to the army. The grounds about Fort Severn are very 
beautiful, and delight the eyes of all visitors. In addition to the Naval Monument there, already mentioned (page 124), 
are others, both elegant and expensive. -r . -^ ■, ^,. i. ^ 

5 The residence of Commodore Eodgers at Havre de Grace, at that time, was yet standmg when I visited that town m 
November 1861 It stood at near the junction of Washington and St. John Streets, and was occupied by William Pop- 
lar. It was a two-story brick house, substantially built, and well preserved, as seen in the engraving on the next 
page. It will be referred to again, in an account of my visit to Havre de Grace above alluded to. 

' Letter from an officer on board the President in the Mw York Herald, June 3, ISll. 



182 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The President on a Cruise. 



She discovers a strange Vessel, 



Signals. 



Method of Sigmaling.t 




OOiUMOnOBE aol)G£BS*B BEBIDENOE. 



and proceeded down the Chesapeake, with 
the intention of cruising off New York as 
an inquirer concerning the impressment 
He stopped on his way down the bay for 
munitions, and on the 14th passed the Vir- 
ginia capes out upon the broad ocean. He 
lingered there as an observer for a day 
or two, and at about noon on the 16th, 
Cape Henry bearing southwest, and dis- > 
tant about forty miles, he discovered a 
strange sail on the eastern horizon. The 
squareness of her yards and symmetry of 
her sails proclaimed her a war vessel. She 
was bearing toward the President under 
a heavy press of sail. Thinking she might 
be the offender, the President stood for the 
stranger, and at two o'clock displayed her broad pennant^ and ensign. The stran- 
ger made several signals. These were unanswered, and she bore away southward.^ 

• A pennant is a streamer made of a long, narrow piece of bunting, worn at the mast-heads of vessels of war. A 
broad permantiB a square piece of the same material, placed at the mast-head of the commodore's flag-ship." It is some- 
times spelled jpCTidiw* ani pmnon. The latter is not, strictly, a streamer. It is a shorter flag, split at the end, and used 
on merchant vessels. In the Middle Ages it was carried by knights at the heads of their lances. It is sometimes used 
poetically for a streamer or banner. 

2 "Made the signal 275, and flnding it not answered, concluded she was an American frigate," wrote the commandei 
of that vessel to his superior on the 2lBt of May. Bach nation has a system of naval signals of its own, unknown to all 
others, and changed frequently, and for that reason Commodore Eodgers could not answer. These signals comprise a 
system of telegraphic signs, by which ships communicate with each other at a distance and convey information, or make 
known their wants. This is done by means of a certain number of flags and pennants of diffferent colors,- peculiarly ar- 
ranged, which indicate the different numerals from 1 to 0. Particular flags or pennants are also used for specific pur- 
po'ses ; for example, one pennant is called the interrogative, and, when hoisted, signifies that a question is asked; while 
another flag signifies affirmative, negative, etc. To correspond with the fiags, signal-books are formed, with sentences 
or words which these flags, represent. These books contain a list of the most common words in the language, with a 
table of such geographical names as are likely to be needed at sea, and also "a list of the ships belonging to the navy of 
the country.*— jYeM) ATnericcm Cycloptsdia, article-SiGNALS. 

To give the reader'a practical idea of the working of naval signals, I introduce graphic and explanatory descriptions 
ftom Eodgers and Black's Semaplwrie Signdl-bodk, approved by the Secretary of the , Navy, J. T. Mason, in 1847. These 
signals are composed of nine flags and five short pennants, 
capable of making 100,000 signals. These flags and pen- 
nants are seen in the engraving. No. 1. There are three 
colors, namely, red, white, and bine;. The red and blue are 
represented by shading, the lines of the former being per- 
pendicular, and of the latter horizontal. Each of tbe flags 
has the same signiflcation as the number above it. 

The pennants are used for duplicating or repeating. 
They are intended as substitutes for the numbers of such 
flags as are already in use ; for example, in the signal num- 
ber 2325 the figure 2 occurs twice. Having but one flag to 
represent that figure, another is substituted to answer its 
purpose, and this is done by using a pennant termed du- 
plicate. The four pennants in the lower section of engrav- 
ing No. 1 represent 1st, 2d, 3d, and 4th" duplicates in the 
order of common enumeration. The first duplicate always 
repeats the number of the upper or first flag (the counting 
is alifltys downward) of the signal with which it is hoist- 




^ tfe- fcte^ ^^ 



SICrJJALb. — MO. 1. 



''■\ 




SIGNAL-liOOK. 



" These signal-books, when prepared for actual service at sea, are cov- 
ered with canvas, containing a pla^e of lead on each side sufficient to sink 
them. This is for the purpose of. destroying them, by tbrowing them 
into the sea when a vessel is compelled to strike her colors, to prevent 
their falling into the hands of the enemy. . The annexed picture of a 
signalibook so covered and leaded is from a drawing of one before me 
which was used by Commodore Barney. It is about nine inches in length. 
The lead is stitched into the canvas cover. It was found among Barney's 
papers, whic> that indefatigable antiquary of Philadelphia, John A. M'Al- 
lister, secured from destruction, and deposited for safe keeping with the 
collections of the Pennsylvania Historical Society. Those papers were 
kindly placed at my disposal by Mr. M'Allister, and fl-om them I gleaned 
much valuable material used in the preparation of a portion of this work. 



OF THE "WAR OF 1812. 



183 



A Chase by the President. 



Signaling. 



A Change in Signals. 



Anxious to speak with her, Rodgers gave chase. The President gained upon her, 
and at three in the afternoon was so near that her hull was seen upon the horizon; 

ed ; the 2d duplicate repeats the second flag, and so on. The first duplicate, hoisted singly, is answering penvmit; the 
2d, hoisted singly, is No; the 3d, hoisted singly, is Yes; and the 4th, hoisted singly, is muimeml signal. 0, or cipher pen- 
nant, hoisted singly, is alphabetical si0ial. 

Engraving No. 2 shows four ex- 
amples of the use of the signals, 
in all of which the duplicates are 
used. By attention to the above 
explanations, the operation will 
be readily understood. The first 
section of the engraving No. 2 
represents the nuiuber 2295, op- 
posite which, in the signal-book, 
will be found the words, "The 
commodore wishes to see yon." 
The second section represents 
the number 2329 — "Can you 
spare a compass ?" In these two 
the 1st duplicate is used, repeat- 
ing the number of the first crup- 
per flag. In the third section is 
represented number 6404— " Prepare for action, 




SIGNALS NO. 2. 




In the fourth section, number T226— " Strange sail on the starboard." 
In these two the second duplicate repeats the number of the second 
flag hoisted. The recipient of the information conveyed by the sig- 
nals writes down the numbers on a slate, and then readily finds the 
meaning by referring to the corresponding number in the signal-book. 
In a calm the signals are displayed on a more horizontal line, as 
seen in engraving No. 3, which represents number 1307 — "Is be- 
calmed, and requires a steam-boat to tow." 

The same flags and pennants are also used for alphabetical signals, 
to spell a word or name. The 0, or cipher signal, is hoisted singly, as 
the preparatory signal, after which the or cipher signal is placed 
above or below the flags where required, as seen in engraving No. 4, 
and indicated in the alphabet below. 

During the autumn and winter of 1811 and 1812, when war with En- 
gland seemed to be inevitable, the attention of Commodore Eodgers 
was much occupied with the subject of land telegraphs for army pur- 
sisNALB —NO i) poses, and naval signals. He invented a telegraph which was adopt- 

ed. On the 31st of April, 1812, he wrote to the Secretary of the Navy 
from the President^ then ly- 
ing in Hampton Roads, rec- 
ommending a change in 
the naval signals, several 
years having elapsed since 
the system of day signals 
then in use had been intro- 
duced. He thought it had 
become known to the Brit- 
ish navy. In that letter, 
preserved in the Depart- 
ment at Washington, he 
sent a drawing made In ac- 
cordance with the proposed 
change. His suggestions 
were adopted, and the sig- 
nals delineated in the en- 
graving No. 5, on the next 
page, copied from Eodgers's manuscripts, 
were those used during the War of 1812. 

A frequent change in the arrangement 
of the signal flags is necessary, for obvious 
reasons. The code of signals used in the 
United States Navy just previous to the 
late Qivll war was prepared by a board of 
officers consisting of Commodores M'Cau- 
ley and LavaleHe, and Commanders Mar- 
chand and Steedman. It was adopted by 
the Navy Department in 1S5T. In 1S59 an- 
other board of officers tested and approved 
a system of night signals invented by B. F. 
Coston, of the United StatesNavy. In Octo- 
ber, 1861, they were adopted in the United 
States army. A new system of signals for 

both the army and navy was arranged by Major (afterward Colonel) Albert J. Myer, whicji was used throughout the 
war. Major Myer was the chief sigDal oflicer during all that time, and is now (1867) at tie head of the signal depart- 
ment of the army. 




J 


2. 


3 


4 


5 


e 


7 


,8 


9 


A 


B 


C 


D 


E 


F 


G 


H 


I 


10 


20 


w 


i.0 


50 


60 


10 


80 


90 


J 


K 


Is 


M 


N. 


O 


P 


Q 


R 


01 


02 


03 


04 


05 


06 


07 


08 


09 


S 


T 


U 


V 


\Y 


X 


Y 


Z 


J^inish 



184 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



The Porsner and the Porsned in Conflict. 



The President and the Little Belt the CombatantB. 




SIGNALS. — KO. 5. 



but the breeze slackened, and night fell upon the waters 
before the two vessels were near enough to each other 
to discern their respective characters. 

At twenty minutes past eight in the evening the Pres- 
ident brought-to on the weather-bow, or a little forward 
of^the beam of the stranger, and, when within about a 
hundred yards of her, Rodgers hailed, and asked "What 
ship is that ?" No answer was given, but the question 
^^^^ was repeated from the stranger, word for word. After a 

P^^H j n pause of fifteen or twenty seconds Rodgers reiterated his 
I- -j-^ 1—^ — inquiry, and, before he could take his trumpet from his 
mouth, was answered by a shot that cut off one of the 
main-top-backstays of his vessel, and lodged in her main- 
mast. He was about to order a shot in return, when a 
gun from the second division of his ship was fired. ^ At 
almost the same instant the antagonist of the President 
fired three guns in quick succession, and then the rest of 
her broadside, with musketry. This provocation caused 
he President to respond by a broadside. " Equally determined," said Rodgers, " not to 
»e the aggressor, or suffer the flag of my country to be insulted with impunity, I gave 
, general order to fire."^ In the course of five or six minutes his antagonist was si- 
enced, and the guns of the President ceased firing, the commander having discovered 
hat his assumed enemy was a feeble one in size and armament. But, to the surprise 
if the Americans, the stranger opened her fire anew in less than five minutes. This 
ras again silenced by the guns of the President, when Rodgers again demanded 
■What ship is that?" The wind was blowing freshly at the time, and he was able 

hear only the words, " His majesty's ship—" but the name he could not understand, 
le immediately gave the name of his own vessel, displayed many lights to show his 
thereabouts in case the disabled ship should need assistance, and bore away. 

At dawn the President discovered her antagonist several miles to the leeward, and 
nmediately bore down upon her to offer assistance. Lieutenant Creighton was sent 

1 a boat to learn the names of the vessel and her commander, to ascertain the extent 
f damage, offer assistance, and to express the regret of the commodore that necessity 
Q his part had led to such results. Lieutenant Creighton brought back the informa- 
on that the ship was the British slooTp-of-war Zittle Pelt, 18, Captain A. B. Bingham, 
;ho had been sent to the waters off Charleston, South Carolina, in search of the &%(&■- 
■ere, and, not finding her, was cruising northward for the same purpose, according to 
IS ms_tructions.3 Captain Bingham politely refused aid, because he did not need it, 
id sailed away to Halifax, where he reported to "Herbert Sawyer, Esq., Rear-admi- 
il of the Red," the commander-in-chief on the American station.* The President pro- 
Say, ceeded on her voyage toward New York, and " off Sandy Hook," on the 23d,* 

• Commodore Rodgers wrote the dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy from 
hich the foregoing facts have been drawn. 
The reports of th e occurrence by Rodgers and Bingham were utterly contradictory 

Lw^3''f ''*'' seamen, who professed to have been deserters from the Prement, testified at Halifax tl»t this enn was 

icharged by accident.— iomdoJi 2%nc«, December T, 1811 . ■* s 

I Eodgers's dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy, May 23, 1811. 

Aamr«r4'^°*'™' J^'/. ^"'^^ *' "Bermuda, this 19th day of April, 1811," signed by H. N. Someryille, by command 

sln^wtirS, ' "" »'J*r«ss«a to " Arthnr Batt Bingham, Esq., commander of his majesty's sloop LiUle Belt." In 

bi^ts^f Z TT„«TJ'i^°"^A"' *® " P^'ticnlarly careful not to give any Just cause of offence to the government or 

■S h,^^^ZZ w "^^^ of Ajnerioa : and to give very particular orders to this effect to tlie officers yon may have 

■»^]on to send on board ehips under the American flaff." ' 

ad mfl^tlt''»^'r?i'''' vessel much damaged in her masts, sails, rigging, and hull, many shot through between 

to?d cre^hton ?hat^I ^°^ '^l"'"'^"* " ""■ ''■*" ""'I "" "^^ "PP^"- ''''*«• ^^^ *« "'"board pump shot away. 
Jif^ ^™Shton that he had all necessary materials on board for making sufficient repairs to enable him to reach 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



185 



Contradictory Statements of Bodgers and Bingham. 



The Testimony. 



Indignation of tlie American People. 



' 1811. 



in respect to the most essential fact, namely, as to the aggressor. Rodgers stated 
positively that he hailed twice, and his words were repeated by the stranger ; that 
she first fired one shot, which struck his vessel, then three shots, and immediately 
■» __„^ afterward the remainder of her hroad- 

side, before he opened his guns upon 
her, except the single one which one of 
the deserters declared was discharged 
by accident. This account was fully 
corroborated, before a court of inquiry, 
by every officer and some of the sub- 
ordinates who were on board the Pres- 
ident, under oath. On the contrary, 
Captain Bingham reported that he 
hailed first, and that his words were 
twice repeated from the President, 
when that Vessel fired a broadside, 
which the Little Belt immediately re- 
turned. This statement was fully cor- 
roborated before a court of inquiry, 
held at Halifax on the 29th of 
May,* by the officers of the Lit- 
tle Belt, and two deserters from the 
under oath. Bingham and 
his supporting deponents declared 
that the action lasted from forty- 
five minutes to one hour ; while 
Rodgers declared that it lasted al- 
together, including the intermis- 
sions, not more than fifteen min- 
utes.^ Bingham also intimated in his dispatch that he had gained the advantage in 
the contest.^ 

When intelligence of this afiair went over the land it produced intense excitement. 
Desires for and dread of war with Ehgland were stimulated to vehement action, and 
conflicting views and expressions, intensified by party hate, awoke spirited conten- 
tions and discussions in every community. The contradictions of the two command- 
ers were in due time made known, and added fuel to the fires of party strife. Each 
government naturally accepted the report of its own servant as the true one. Not 
so with all the people of the United States. The opposition politicians and^ news- 
papers, with a partisanship more powerful for a while than patriotism, took sides with 
the British; and, eager to convict the administration of belligerent intentions, while ; 
at the same time they inconsistently assailed it because of its alleged imbecility and 
want of patriotism in not resisting and resenting the outrages and insults of Great 




CcxJ^^x^^^/ 







1 John Eodgere was bom at Havre de Grace, in Maryland, in 1771. He entered the navy as lieutenant, on the 9th of 
March, 1798, and Vfas the executive ofHcer of the CanxUiOxiiian, under Commodore Truxtun, when the ImwrrjenU was 
taken. See page 103. He was appointed captain in March, 1799, and he was in active service daring the naval opera- 
tions in the Mediterraiiean until 1805. He was the oldest officer in rank in the navy at the time of the occurrence narrated 
in the text. He was the first to start on a cruise with a squadron after the declaration of war in 1812. His efficient serv- 
ices during that war will be found detailed in future pages. From April, 1815, until December, 1S24, he served as presi- 
dent of the board of Navy Commissioners, and ftom 1824 until 1837 he was in command of a squadron in the Mediterra- 
nean. On his return in 1827 he resumed his place at the board, and held it for ten years, when he relinquished it on 
account of failing health. He died at Philadelphia in August, 1838. The portrait above given was copied firom an orig- 
inal painting in the Navy Department at Washington. 

2 " The action then became general, and continued so for about three quarters of an hour, when he [the American] 
ceased firing, and appeared to be on fire about the main hatchway. He then filled. I was obligedto desist from firing, 
as. the ship falling off, no gun would bear, and had no after-sail to keep her to."— Dispatch to Admiral Sawyer, May 
21,1811. 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



leinoralizing Bffects of Party Politics. Commodore Eodgers assailed. Eodgere vindicated. 

;ain, or making eflS.eient preparations for such resistance and resentment, circulated 
port, with the fiercest denunciations, that Rodgers had sailed with orders from 
shington to rescue by force the young man lately impressed from a Portland 
;.^ They exultingly drew a comparison between the late and pSteeent Democratic 
linistration, the former denying the right of the Leopard to take a seaman by 
e from the Chesapeake, the latter ordering Rodgers to do what Captain Hum- 
3ys had been condemned by the Americans and punished by his own government 
doing. Rodgers himself, who had behaved most prudently, gallantly, and mag- 
Lmously in the matter, received his full share of personal abuse from the opponents 
he administration; and, strange as it may seem, when the question was reduced 
ne of simple veracity on the part of the two commanders, a large number of his 
itrymen, even with the overwhelming testimony of all the officers and many of 
subordinates of the President against that of five officers and two deserters pro- 
3d by Captain Bingham, were so misled by party zeal as to express their belief 
the British commander uttered nothing but truth, and that Rodgers and his peo- 
ill committed perjury ! But these ungenerous and unpatriotic assaults soon lost 
r chief sustenance when the Secretary of State officially declared that no orders 
been given for a forcible rescue of the impressed American ; and the satisfaction 
[r. Foster, the British minister at Washington (who had requested: an inquiry into 
conduct of Rodgers), that the statements of that commander were substantially 
, was manifested by the fact that the subject was. dropped in diplomatic circles, 
never revived there, and the affair of the Chesapeake was settled in accordance 
1 the demands of the government of the United States. 

lit while the two governments tacitly agreed to bury the matter in official obliv- 
the people of the respective countries, highly excited by the event, would not let it 
). It increased the feeling of mutual animosity which had been growing rapidly 
.te, and widened the gulf of separation, which every day became more and more 
jult of passage by kindly international sentiments ; and when the Twelfth Con- 
ember 4, gress assembled, a month earlier than usual,^ the administration party in 
'^^^- and out of that body was found to be decidedly a war party, while the 
sralists, growing weaker in numbers every day, were as decidedly opposed to 



le charge was apparently Jnstifled by the tenor of a letter, already referred to, pnrporting to have been written by 
.cer on board the PresiAmt on the 14th of May, bnt whose name was never given. He wrote : " By the officers who ■ 
from Washington we learn that we are sent in pursuit of the British frigate who had impressed a passenger from 
ter. Yesterday, while beating down the bay, we spoke a brig coming up, who informed us that she saw the British 
s the day before off the very place where we now are ; but she is not now in sight. We have made the most complete 
rations for battle. Every one wishes it. She is exactly our force, but we have the Argw with us, which none of 
pleased with, as we wish a fair trial of courage and skill. Should we see her, I have not the least doubt of an en- 
lent. The commodore will demand the person impressed ; the demand will doubtless be refused, and the battle 
istantly commence. . . . The commodore has called in the boatswain, gunner, and carpenter, informed them of 
Bumstances, and asked if they were ready for action. Eeady was the reply of each."— iVeio Fori BmaU June 3 1811 




OF TflE WAR- OF 1812. jg^ 



The Indiana Territory. Harrison it8 Governor. 



His wise Administration. 




CHAPTER X. 

"On Wabash, when the sun withdrew, 
And chill November's tempest blew. 
Dark rolled thy waves, Tippecanoe, 
Amidst that lonely solitude. 

But Wabash saw another sight ; 
A martial host, in armor bright. 
Encamped upon the shore that night, 
And lighted up her scenery." 

Song — TirpECAuoE. 
"Bold Boyd led on his steady band, 

With bristling bayonets burnished bright. 
What could their dauntless charge withstand ? 
What stay the warriors' matchless might? 
Rushing amain, they cleared the field ; 
The savage foe constrained to yield 
To Harrison, who, near and far. 
Gave fonn and spirit to the war." 

Battle of Tippecanoe. 

^BILE the nation was agitated by political contentions, and the 

p low mutterings of the thunder of an oncoming tempest of war 

'~ were heard, heavy, dark, and ominous clouds of trouble were 

seen gathering in the northwestern horizon, where the Indians 

were still numerous, and discontents had made them restless. 

In the year. 1800, as we have seen (page 130 ), the Indiana 
'Territory (then including the present States of Indiana, Illinois, 
^"— and Wisconsin) was established, and the late President Harri- 
son, then an energetic young man of less than thirty years of age, was appointed gov- 
ernor. He had resigned his commission of captain in the United States army, and 
for a few years had been employed in civil life. In the year 1805 a Territorial Leg- 
islature was organized, much to the discontent of the French settlers on the Wabash, 
and Vincennes, an old town already spoken of (page 40), was made the capital. 
Harrison was popular among all classes, and particularly with the Indians ; and he 
managed the public affairs of the Territory with prudence and energy in the midst ■ 
of many diificulties arising out of land speculations, land titles, treaties with the In- 
dians, and the machinations of traders and the English in Canada. He had much to 
contend against in the demoralization of the Indians by immediate contact with the 
white people, especially effected by whisky and other spirituous liquors. ^ 

By a succession of treaties. Governor Harrison, at the close of 1805, had extin- 
guished Indian titles to forty-six thousand acres of land within the domain of Indi- 
ana. Every thing had been done in accordance with the principles of exact justice, 
and, had the governor's instructigns been fully carried out, the Indians would never 
have had cause to complain. But settlers and speculators came, bringing with them, 
in many cases, the peculiar vices of civilized society, which, when copied by the In- 
dians, were intensified fourfold. Regarding the natives as little better than the wild 
beasts of the forest, they defrauded them, encroached upon their reserved domain, 
and treated them with contempt and inhumanity. " You call us your children," said 
an old chief to Harrison one day, in bitterness of spirit — " you call us your children 

1. " I do not believe," wrote General Harrison in 1805, " that there are more than six hundred warriors on the Wabash, 
and yet the quantity of whisky brought here annually for their consumption is said to amount to six thousand gallons." 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



ichmetits on the Indians. 



British Emissaries again at Work. 



Tecomtha and his Family. 



ly do you not make us happy, as our fathers, the French, did ? They never took 
us our lands ; indeed, they were common between us. They planted where they 
ied, and they cut wood where they pleased, and so did we. But now, if a poor 
m attempts to take a little bark from a tree to cover him from rain, up comes a 
e man and threatens to shoot him, claiming the tree as his own.''^ And so, with 
le reason, they murmured on. Emissaries sent out by the British authorities iq 
bda fanned the flame of discontent ; and Elliott, the old enemy of the Americans, 
living near Maiden, observing symptoms of impending war between the United 
is and Great Britain, was again wielding a potent influence over the chiefs of the 
iS in the if orthwest. Their resources, as well as privileges, were curtailed. Na- 
)n's Continental System touched even the savage of the wilderness. It clogged 
almost closed the chief markets for his furs, and the prices were so low that In- 
hunters found it difiicult to purchase their usual necessaries from the traders. 
he beginning of 1811 the Indians were ripe for any enterprise that promised them 
f and independence. 

powerful warrior had lately become conspicuous, who, like Metacomet, the Wam- 
ag, and Pontiac, the Ottawa, essayed to be the savior of his people from the • 
ling footsteps of the advancing white man. He was one of three sons bom of a 
k mother (Methoataske) at the same time, in a cabin built of sapling logs un- 
1, and chinked with sticks and mud, near the banks of the Mad River, a few 
3 from Springfield, Ohio. They were named respectively Teoiimtha, Elkswatawa, 

and Kamskaka. Te- 
cumtha^ was the war- 
rior alluded to. His 
name signifies, in the 
Shawnoese dialect, " a 
fiying tiger," or "a 
wild-cat springing on 
its prey." He was a 
well-built man, about 
five feet ten inches 
in height.^ Elkswata- 
wa, " the loud voice," 
also became famous, 
lore properly speaking, notorious ; but Kamskaka lived a quiet, retired life, and 
in ignoble obscurity. 

i early as 1805, Elkswatawa, pretending to have had a vision, assumed to be a 
het, and took the name of Pemsquatawah, or " open door." Up to that period 
ad been remarkable for nothing but stupidity and intoxication. He was a 
ing, unprincipled man, whose countenance was disfigured by the loss of an 




JilKTHPLAOE OF TEOtTMTHA AN1» HIS BROTUERS. 



vemor Harrison to the Secretary of War. 

e late Colonel John Johnston, of Dayton, Ohio, who was Indian Agent among the Shawnoese and neighboring 
for many years, and knew Tecumtha well; informed me that the proper way to spell that warrior's name, accord- 
the native pronunciation, is as I have given it. On such authority I have adopted the orthography in the text. 
Colonel Johnston, whose name will he frequently mentioned in the course of our narrative, I obtained much val- 
infonnation concerning the Indians of the Northwest from the year 1800 to 1812, during a visit with him in the 
n of 1860. 

birthplace of Tecumtha and his brothers was at the Piqaa village, about five miles west from Springfield.* The 
Ing, copied by permission from Howe's Historical CoUeetpns ofOhia^ shows the place of his birth as it appeared 
fears ago. It is on the north side of the Mad River. A small hamlet, called West Boston, now occupies the site 
Piqua village. The Indian fort at that place, consisting of a rude log hut surrounded by pickets, stood upon the 
3n on the left of the picture. ' ^ Colonel Johnston. 

is was ancient Piqua, the seat of the Piqua clan of the Shavraoese, a name which signifies "a man formed out of 
hes," and significant of their alleged origin. See Howe's Eistoriml Collections of Ohio, page 362. Modern Piqua, 
imes confounded with that' of the ancient one in speaking of Tecumtha, is a flourishing village on the Great Mia- 
er, Miami County. Upper Piqua, three miles above the village, is a place of considerable historical interest. The 
is referred to Mr. Howe's valuable work for interesting details concerning the events which made it famous. 



OF THE WAE OK 1812. 



189 



The Prophet's Vision. 



Tecumtta's Craft. 



His Inspiration. 



The superstitions Indians excited. 



eye.i While lighting 
his pipe one day, he 
fell to the earth, as if 
dead. Preparations 
were made for his bu- 
rial. When his friends 
were about to remove 
him, he opened his eyes 
and said, " Be not fear- 
ful. I have been in the 
Land of the Blessed. 
Call the nation togeth- 
er, that I may tell them 
what I have seen and 
heard." His people 
were speedily assem- 
bled, and again he 
spoke, saying, " Two 
beautiful young men 
were sent to me by the 
Great Spirit, who said, 
The Master of Life 




THE PEOPHET. 



is angry with you all. 
He will destroy you 
unless you refrain from 
drunkenness, lying, 
stealing, and witch- 
craft, and turn your- 
selves to him. Unless 
the red men shall do 
this, they shall never 
see the beautiful place 
you are now to be- 
hold." He was then 
taken to a gate which 
opened into the spirit- 
land, but he was not 
permitted to enter.^ 

Such was the proph- 
et's story. He imme- 
diately entered upon 
his mission as a pro- 
fessed preacher of 
righteousness. He in- 
veighed against drunkenness and witchcraft, and warned his people to have nothing . 
to do with the pale-faces, their religion, their customs, their anns, or their arts, for 
every imitation of the intruders was offensive to the great Master of Life. Tecum- 
tha, possessed of a master mind and a statesman's sagacity, was the moving spirit in 
all this imposture. It was a part of his grand scheme for obtaining influence over 
the Northwestern tribes for political purposes, and he went from tribe to tribe pub- 
lishing the wonders of his brother's divine mission. 

The Prophet's harangues excited the latent superstition of the Indians to the high- 
est degree, and for a while his sway over the minds of the savages in the Northwest 
was almost omnipotent. The chiefs and leading men of his own tribe denouncdB 
him, but the people sustained him. Success made him bold, and he used his newly- 
acquired power for the gratification of private and public resentments. He was ac- 
cuser and judge, and he caused the execution of several hostile Delaware chiefs on a 
charge of witchcraft. A terrorism began to prevail all over the region where his di- 
vine mission was recognized. The credulous — men, women, and children — came long 
distances to see the oracle of the Great Spirit, who, they believed, wrought miracles.^ 
Their numbers became legion, and the white settlers were alarmed. 
Tecumtha's d^ep scheme worked admirably. In the great congregation were lead- 

' The portrait of the Prophet is from a pencil sketch made hy Pierre Le Dm, a yonng French trader, at Vincennes, 
in 1808. He made a sketch of Tecnmtha at ahont the same time, hoth of which I found in possession of his son at 
Quebec in 1848, and by whom I was kindly permitted to copy them. That of Tecnmtha will be found in Chapter XIV. 
Owing partly to his excessive dissipation, the Prophet appeared mnch the elder of Tecnmtha. 

2 Drake's Book of the Indians, page 624. 

3 The Prophet was without honor in his own country, and he left Piqua and settled in a village of his own at Qreen- 
ville, in Ohio, where Wayne held his great treaty in 1795, on lands already ceded to the United States. At the instiga- 
tion of Tecnmtha, no doubt, he sent emissaries to the tribes on the Lakes and on the Upper Mississippi, to declare his 
prophecy that the earth was about to be destroyed, except in the immediate residence of the Prophet at Greenville. 
Alarm caused many to flock thither as a place of refuge, and this gave Tecumtha an opportunity to divulge with ease 
to a large number, his plans for a confederacy. The Prophet made many predictions concerning the future glory of the 
Indians. His disciples spread the most absurd tales about his wonderful power— that he could make pumpkins spring 
out of the ground as large as wigwams, and that his corn grew so large that one ear would feed a dozen men. They 
spread a belief that the body of the Prophet was invnlnerable, and that he had all knowledge, past, present, and future. 
It is said that so great a number flocked to Greenville to see him, that the southern shores of Lakes Superior and Mich- 
igan were quite depopulated. The traders were obliged to abandon their business. Of these deluded fanatics not more 
than one third ever returned, having died in consequence of the privations of hunger, cold, and fatigue. Xbey perished 
by scores upon their weary pilgrimage.— J/5. Life and Timm of Teevmaeh, by Henry Onderdonk, Jr., 1842. 



190 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Tecumtha'B Project of a Confederation. Harrison denounces the Prophet. Tecumtha's Boldness. 

ing men from all the surrounding tribes, even from the Upper Mississippi, and he had 
a rare opportunity to confer with them together on the subject of his darling project, 
a grand confederation of all the tribes in the Northwest to drive the white man 
across the Ohio, and reclaim their lands which they had lost by treaties. He declared 
to assembled warriors and sachems, whenever opportunity oflfered, that the treaties 
concerning those lands northward of the Ohio were fraudulent, and therefore' void ; 
and he always assured his auditors that he and his brother, the Prophet, would resent 
any farther attempts at settlement in that direction by the white people. 

Governor Harrison perceived danger in these movements, and early in 1808 he ad- 
dressed a speech to the chiefs and head men of the Shawnoese tribe, in which he de- 
nounced the Prophet as an impostor. " My children," he said, " this business must 
be stopped. I will no longer suifer it. ^^You have called a number of men from the 
most distant tribes to listen to a fool, who speaks not the words of the Great Spirit, 
but those of the Evil Spirit and of the British agents. My children,:your.conduct has 
much alarmed the white settlers near you. They desire that .you will send away 
those people ; and' if they wish to have the impostor with them they can carry him. 
Let him go to the Lakes ; he can hear the British more distinctly." 

This speech exasperated and alarmed the brothers. The Prophet and his follow- 
ers, frowned upon by the Shawnoese in general, who listened to the governor, took 
up their abode in the spring of 1808 on the banks of the Wabash, near the mouth of 
the Tippecanoe River. - Tecumtha.was there too, when not on his political journeys 
among the neighboring tribes, but he was cautious and silent. The Prophet, more 
directly aimed at in Harrison's speech, hastened to deny any complicity with the 
British agents, or having hostile designs. He visited Vincennes in August to con- 
fer in person with the governor, and to give him renewed and solemn assurances that 
he and his followers wished to live in harmony with the white people. So specious 
were the words of the wily savage, that Harrison suspected he had misjudged the 
man, and he dismissed the Prophet with friendly assurances. 

The governor soon had reason to doubt the fidelity of the oracle. There were 
reported movements at the Prophet's town on the Wabash, half religious and half 
warlike, that made him suspect the brothers of unfriendly designs toward the Ameri- 
(s§as. He charged them with having made secret arrangements with British agents 
for hostile purposes, and pressed the matter so closely that, at a conference between 
the governor and the Prophet at Vincennes in the summer of 1 809, the latter acknowl- 
edged that he had received invitations from the British in Canada to engage in a war 
with the United States, but declared that he had rejected them. He renewed his 
vows of friendship, but Harrison no longer believed him to be sincere. 
" September 30, Soon after this interview Harrison concluded a treaty at Fort Wayne"' 
^^- with Delaware, Pottawatomie, Miami, Kickapoo, Wea, and Eel River In- 

dians, by which, in consideration of $8200 paid down, and annuities to the amount of 
$2350 in the aggregate, he obtained a cession of nearly three millions*of acres of land 
extending up the Wabash beyond Terre Haute, and including the middle waters of 
the White River, i Neither Tecumtha, nor his brother, nor any of their tribe had any 
claim to these lands, yet they denounced those who sold them, declared the treaty 
void, and threatened to kill every chief concerned in it. Tecumtha grew bolder and 
bolder, for he was sanguine of success in his great scheme of a confederation, and the 
arrest of the white man's progress. He had already announced the doctrine, opposed 
to state or tribal rights, that the domain of all the Indians belonged to all in common, 
and that no part of the territory could be sold or alienated without the consent of 
all. This was the ground of the denunciations of the treaty by Tecumtha and his 
brother, and the justifi cation of their threats against the ofifending chiefs— threats the 

I The Weas and Kickapoos were not represented at the cotincD, but the former, in October, and the latter in Decem- 
ber, confirmed the treaty at Fort Wayne. 



OF THE WAR OP 1812. 



191 



Signs of Indian Hostilities. 



Tlie Mission of Joseph Barron. 



His hostile Reception by the Prophet. 



more alarming, because the warlike Wyandots, on the southern shores of Lake Erie, 
whom all the tribes so feared and respected that they called them uncles, had lately 
become the allies of these Shawanoese brothers. 

ti the spring of 1810 the Indians at the Prophet's town gave unmistakable signs 
of hostility. They refused to receive the " annuity salt," and insulted the boatmen 
who took It to them by calling them " American doge." These and other indications 
of hostUity caused Harrison to send frequent messengers to the Prophet and his 
brother. Finally, in July, he sent a letter to them by Joseph Barron, a Frenchman, 
known to and respected by all the Indian tribes in that region as a faithful and kind- 
hearted interpreter. He was instructed to in- 
vite the brothers to meet the governor in coun- 
cil at Vincennes, and lay their alleged griev- 
ances before him. Barron was received by the 
Prophet in a most unfriendly spirit. The ora- 
cle was surrounded by several Indians, and 
when the interpreter was formally presented 
his single eye kindled and gleamed with 
fiercest anger. Gazing upon the visitor in- 
tently for several minutes without speaking, 
he suddenly exclaimed, " For what purpose do 
you come here ? Brouillette was here ; he was 
a spy. Dubois was here ; he was a spy. Now 
you have come. You, too, are a spy." Then, 
pointing to the ground, he said, vehemently, 
" There is your grave, look on it !" At that 
moment Tecumtha appeared, assured Barron 
of his personal safety, heard the letter of 
Governor Harrison, and promised to visit Vin- 
cennes in the course of a few days.^ 

On the morning of the 12th of August Te- 
cumtha appeared at Vincennes. He had been requested to bring not more than thir- 
ty warriors with him ; he came with four hundred fully armed, and encamped in a 
grove on the outskirts of the town. The inhabitants, most of whom were unarmed, 
were startled by this unexpected demonstration of savage strength, and, partly on 

' statement of Mr. Barron, quoted by Dillon in his History of InUama, page 441. Mr. Barron was a native of Detroit. 
He was employed by Harrison as interpreter abont eighteen years. He was an uneducated man, of much natural abil- 
ity, and very interesting in conversation. He was slender in form, abont a medium height, had black eyes, salloii; com- 
plexion, a prominent nose, small month, and wore his hair in a cue, 4 la aborigine^ with a long black ribbon dangling 
down his back. He was a facetious, pleasant, social, and entertaining man, full of anecdotes and bon inots. He was fond 
of music, and played the Indian flutes with skill. Barron was acquainted with most of the Indian dialects east of the 
Mississippi. In 1837 he accompanied emigrating Pottawatomies to the West. He also accompanied another party of 
the same tribe in 1838 to their lands beyond the Mississippi. He afterward returned to the Wabash, and, after a pro- 
tracted illness, died on the 31st of July, 1843, at an advanced age, at the residence of his son on the Wabash, near its con- 
fluence with the Eel Eiver. 

Mr. Barron was at the battle of Tippecanoe vrith Harrison, and this circumstance greatly 
exasperated the Indians against him. They were very anxious to capture and torture him. 
So important did they consider him, that they made rude sketches of his features on the 
barks of trees, and sent them among the various tribes, that they might know and catch 
him. One of these was for some time in possession of Mr. Compret, of Fort Wayne. It was 
carried to Germany by a Catholic priest as a great curiosity. Another, on a piece of beech 
bark, was preserved a long time at Fort Dearborn, and in 1836 was in possession of James 
Hertz, a private soldier at Mackinaw, from whom a friend procured it, and in the autumn 
of 1861 sent me a tracing of it. The sketch is a fac-simile on a reduced scale. 

George Winter, Esq., an artist of Lafayette, Indiana, painted a portrait of Mr. Barron in 
183T. He kindly furnished me the copy from which the above engraving was made ; also 
with fhe information concerning the famous interpreter contained in this note. Mr. Winter 
was the painter of the portrait of Frances Slocum, the lost child of Wyoming.— See Lossing's 
Fiellrhook<tftheEei>olviiim,U3W. ^ „ ^ ■, ,. ^ 

Brouillette and Dubois, mentioned above, with Francis Vigo, Pierre La Plante, John Con- 
ner, and William Prince, were influential men, and were frequently employed by Harrison 
as messengers to the Indians. 




JUBEFH BASBON. 




i^niAM nji'rjiorEK. 



192 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



TecumthaatVincennes. His Arrogance. . Hairison'B Speech. Hoetile DemonBtrations by the Indians. 

account of their fears, and partly because of the fame of Tecumtha as an orator, they 
flocked to the governor's house. Seats had Ibeen prepared for those who were to par- 
ticipate in the council under the portico of the governor's residence ; but when Te- 
cumtha, after placing the great body of his warriors in camp in the shade of a grove 
near by' advanced with about thirty of his followers, he refused to enter the area with 
the white people, saying, " Houses were built for you to hold councils in; Indians 
hold theirs in the open air." He then took a position under some trees in front of 
the house, and, unabashed by the large concourse of people before him, opened the 
business with a speech marked by great dignity and native eloquence. When he had 
concluded, one of the governor's aids, through Barron the interpreter, said to the 
chief, pointing to a chair, " Your father requests you to take a seat by his side." The 
chief drew his mantle around him, and, standing erect, said, with scornful tone, "My 
father ! The sun is my father, and the earth is my mother; on her bosom I will re- 
pose," and then seated himself upon the ground. 

Tecumtha's speeches at this council were bold, arrogant, and sometimes insolent. 
He avowed the intention of himself and brother to establish, by a confederacy of the 
tribes, the principle of common interest in the domain as intended by the Great Spir- 
it, and to not only prevent any other sale or cession of lands, but to recover what had 
been lately ceded by the treaty at Fort Wayne. He declared his intention to kill all 
the" village chiefs" who had made the sale if the lands were not returned, because 
he was authorized, he said, by all the tribes to do so. " Return those lands," he said, 
" and Tecumtha will be the friend of the Americans. He likes not the English, who 
_^are continually setting the Indians on the Americans."* 

Governor Harrison, in his reply, ridiculed the idea that the Great Spirit had intend- 
ed the Indians to be one people. " K such had been his intention," he said, " he would 
not have put six different tongues into their heads, but wpuld have taught them all 
to speak one language." As to the lands in dispute, the Shawnoese had nothing to 
do with it. The Miamis owned it when the Shawnoese were living in Georgia, out 
of which they had been driven by the Creeks. The lands had been purchased from 
the Miamis, who were the true owners of it, and it was none of the Shawn^ese's busi- 
ness. When these asseverations were interpreted, Tecumtha's eyes flashed with an- 
ger. He cast off his blanket, and, with violent gesticulations, pronounced the govern- 
or's words to be false. He accused the United States of cheating and imposing upon 
the Indians. His warriors, receiving a sign from him, sprang to their feet, seized their 
war-clubs, and began to brandish their tomahawks. The governor started from his 
chair and drew his sword, while the citizens seized any missile in their way. It was 
a moment of imminent danger. A military guard of twelve men, who were under 
some trees a short distance off, were ordered up. A friendly Indian cocked his pis- 
tol, which he had loaded stealthily while Tecumtha was speaking, and Mr.Winans, a 
Methodist minister, ran to the governor's house, seized a gun, and placed himself in 
the door to defend the family. The guard were about to fire, when Harrison, perfect- 
ly collected, restrained them, and a bloody encounter was prevented. When the in- 
terpreter told him the cause of the excitement, he pronounced Tecumtha a bad man, 
and ordered him to leave the neighborhood immediately. Tecumtha retired to his 
■August 20 camp, the council was broken up,^ and no sleep came to the eyelids of the 
1810. people of Vincennes that night, as they expected an attack from the savages. 

On the following morning, Tecumtha, with seeming sincerity, expressed his regret 
because of the violence into which he had been betrayed. He found in Harrison a 
man not to be awed by menaces nor swayed by turbulence. With respectful words 
he asked to have the council resumed. The governor consented, and then placed two 
companies of well-armed militia in the village, for the protection and encouragement 
of the inhabitants. Tecumtha, always dignified, laid aside his insolent manner, and 

' Ondei'donk's MS. Ufa of Tecumseh, 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 193 



UnsuccesBfal Attempts to conciliate Tecumtha. Kovlng Plunderers. Tecumtha's Fears and Dnplicity. 

publicly disavowed any intention of attacking the governor and his friends on the 
preceding day. When asked whether he intended to persist in his opposition to the 
late treaty, he replied firmly that he should " adhere to the old boundary." Chiefs 
from five different tribes immediately arose, and declared their intention to support 
Tecumtha in the stand he had taken, and their determination to establish the pro- 
posed confederacy. 

Harrison well knew the great ability and influence of Tecumtta, and was very anx 
ious to conciliate him. On the following day, accompanied only by Mr. Barron, he 
visited the warrior in his camp, and had a long and friendly interview with him. He 
told Tecumtha that his principles and his claims would not be allowed by the Presi- 
dent of the United States, and advised him to relinquish them. " Well," said the 
warrior, " as the Great Chief is to determine the matter, I hope the Great Spirit will 
put sense enough into his head to induce him to direct you to give up this land. It 
is true, he is so far ofi'he will not be injured by the war. He may sit still in his town 
and drink his wine, while you and I will have to fight it out."^ The conference end- 
ed by the governor's promising to lay the matter before the President. 

War with the followers of Tecumtha and the Prophet now seemed probable, and 
Harrison commenced measures to meet it. A small detachment of United States 
troops, under Captain Cross, stationed at Newport, Kentucky, were ordered toVin- 
cennes, there to join three companies of militia infantry and a company of Knox Coun- 
ty dragoons, in the event of an attack from the savages. The governor had paid par- 
ticular attention to drilling the militia, and now, when their services were likely to 
be needed, they felt much confidence on account of their discipline. 

The Indians on the Wabash, grown bold by the teachings of their great military 
leader, the oracular revelations of the Prophet, and the active encouragement of the 
British in Canada, began to roam in small marauding parties over the Wabash region 
in the spring of 1811, plundering the houses of settlers and the wigwams of friendly 
Indians, stealing horses, and creating general alarm. Tecumtha was exceedingly ac- 
tive, at the same time, in efibrts to perfect his confederacy and inciting the tribes to 
war; and, early in the summer, the movements of the Indians were so menacing that 
Governor Harrison sent Captain Walter Wilson, accompanied by Mr. Barron, with an 
energetic letter to the Shawnoe brothers.* He assured them that he was .jnne24, 
fully prepared to encounter all the tribes combined, and that if they did not i^ii. 
put a stop to the outrages complained of, and cease their waflike 'movements, he 
should attack them. 

Tecumtha was alarmed. He received the messengers very courteously, and prom- 
ised to see the governor in person' very soon, when he would convince him that he 
had no desire to make war upon the Americans. He accordingly appeared at Vin- 
cennes on the 2'7th of July, accompanied by about three hundred Indians, twenty of 
them women. The inhabitants were alarmed. It was believed that the wily savage 
had intended, with these warriors at hand, to compel the governor to give up the Wa- 
bash lands But when, on the day of his arrival, he saw seven hundred and fifty 
well-armed militia reviewed by the governor, he exhibited no haughtmess of tone and 
manner He was evidently uneasy. He made the most solemn protestations of his 
friendly intentions and desires to restrain the Indians from hostilities, yet he earnest- 
ly but modestly insisted upon a return of the lands ceded by the treaty at Fort 
WaVne His duplicity was perfect. He left Vincennes a few days afterward with 
twenty warriors, went down the Wabash, and, as was afterward ascertamed, visited 
the Southern Indians-Creeks, Choctaws, and Chickasaws-and endeavored to brmg 
them into his league against the white people. The remainder of his followers from 
the Prophet's town, astonished at the military display at Vmcennes, returned to their 
rendezv ous on the Tippecanoe, filled with doubt and alarm. 

1 Dawson's Life of Harrison, page 59 ; Drake's Book of the Xorth American Imliam. 

"N" 



194 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



FreparatloiiB for fighting the Indians. 



Colonel John P. Boyd. 



Response to a Call for Volanteers. 




<C 



<2^/U./P/^,^ 




The government had suggested to Harrison 
the propriety of seizing Tecumtha and the 
Prophet, and holding them as hostages for the 
good behavior of their followers. The gov- 
ernor, in turn, suggested, as a better method 
of obtaining peace and security, an increase of 
the military resources of the Territory, and the 
establishment of a military post high up the 
"Wabash toward the Prophet's town. The wis^ 
dom of this suggestion was conceded. The 
Fourth Regiment of United States Infantry, 
under Colonel John P. Boyd,' was ordered from 
Pittsburg to the Falls of the Ohio, now Lou- 
isville ; and Governor Harrison was author- 
ized^ to employ these troops and call . j„iy y^^ 
out the militia of the Territory for the i^"- 
purpose of attacking the hostile savages on 
the Tippecanoe, if he should deem it advisable. 
This authorization gave the inhabitants about 
Vincennes great relief They had already, be- 
fore the arrival of the order, appointed a coni- 
mittee at a public meeting'' to ask the " jniy si. 
government to direct the dispersion of the hos- 
tile bands at the Prophet's town.^ 
The government was anxious to preserve peace with the Indians, and Harrison's 
orders gave him very little discretionary powers in the matter of levying war upon 
the savages. They were sufiicient for his purpose. He determined to push forward, 
build a fort on the Wabash, make peaceful overtures, and if they were rejected, opeii 
war vigorously. He called Colonel Boyd to Vincennes with his detachment, consist- 
ing of a part of the Fourth Regiment and some riflemen, and asked for volunteers. 
The response was quick and ample. Revenge because of wrongs suffered at the 
hands of the Indians north of the Ohio slumbered in many bosoms, especially in Ken- 
tucky ; and when the voice of the popular Harrison called for aid, it was like the 
sound of the trumpet. Old Indian warriors in Kentucky like General Samuel Wells 

1 John Parke Boyd was born in Newbnryport, Massachnsetts, December 21, 1764. His father was from Scotland, and 
his mother was a descendant of Tristam OoiHn, the first of that family who emigrated to America. He entered the 
army in 1786, as ensign in the Second Eegiment. With a spirit of adventure, he went to India in 1789, having first 
touched at the Isle of France. In a letter to his father from Madras, in June, 1790, he says, "Having procured recom- 
mendatory letters to the English consul residing at the court of his highness, the Nizam, I proceeded to his capital, Hy- 
drabad, 450 miles from Madras. On my arrival, I was presented to his highness in form by the English consul. My re- 
ception was as favorable as my most sanguine wishes had anticipated. After the usual ceremony was over, he present- 
ed me with the command of two hansolars of infantry, each of which consists of 500 men." His commission and pay 
were in accordance with his command. He describes the army of the Nizam, which had taken the field against Tippoo 
Sultan. It consisted of 1.50,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry, and 500 elephants, each elephant supporting a " castle" contain- 
ing a nabob and servants. He remained in India several years, in a sort of guemlla service, and obtained much favor. 
He was in Paris early in 1808, and at home in the autumn of that year, when he was appointed (October 2) colonel of 
the Fourth Kegiment of the U. S. Army. He was in the battle of Tippecanoe in November, 1811, and on the commence- 
ment of war with Great Britain he was appointed (August 26) a brigadier general. He held that rank throughont the 
war. He was at the capture of Fort George, and in the battle of Chrysler's Field, or Williamsburg, in Canada. He left 
the army in 1815, and the following year he went to England to obtain indemnity for the loss of a valuable cargo of salt- 
petre, captured by an English cruiser while on its way from the East Indies. He procured only a single installment of 
$30,000. President Jackson appointed him Naval OiBcer at Boston in 1830. He died there the same year, on the 4th of. 
October, at the age of sixty-six years. 

General Boyd was a tall, well-formed, and handsome man; kind, courteous, and generous. I am indebted to the 
courtesy of the Hon. William Willis, of Portland, Maine, f jr the materials of the above brief sketch and the profile of the 
general. 

2 The committee consisted of Samuel T. Scott, Alexander Devin, Luke Decker, Ephraim .Jordan, Daniel M'Clurc, 
Walter Wilson, and Francis Vigo. In a letter dated August 3, 1811, and addressed to the President, they said, "In this 
part of the country we have not, as yet, lost any of our fellow-citizens by the Indians ; but depredations upon the prop- 
erty of those who live upon the- frontiers, and insults to the families, that are left unprotected, almost dally occur."— 
Dillon's History of Indiana, page 456. 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 195 



Harriaon's March up the Wabash w ith Troops. Port Harrison built. Deputations of friendly Indians. 

and Colonel Owen instantly obeyed. They hastened to the field, accompanied by the 
eloquent Kentucky lawyer, Joseph Hamilton Daviess, Colonel Frederick Geiger, Cap- 
tain Peter Funk' at the head of a company of cavalry, and Croghan, O'Fallon, Shipp, 
Chum, Edwards, and other subalterns, who had been mustered by Geiger near Louis- 
ville. All of these have praisers for bravery in the annals of their country. 

On the 26th of September Governor Harrison left Fort Knox,^ at Vincennes, with 
about, nine hundred effective, men, marched up the Wabash Valley, and on the 3d of 
October halted on the eastern bank of the river, about two miles above, an old Wea 
village, where the town of Terre Haute, Indiana, now stands. It was a spot famous 
in Indian tradition as the scene of a desperate battle, at some time far in the past, be- 
tween tribes of the Illinois and Iroquois. On this account the old French settlers 
had named the spot " Battaille des Illinois." There they immediately commenced the 
erection of a quadrangular stockaded fort, with a block-house at three of the angles ; 
and there the governor received deputations from friendly Delaware and Miami In- 
dians, who assui-ed him that the hostility and strength of the Prophet was increasing. 
In war-speeches to them he had declared that the hatchet was lifted up against the 
Americans; and this information was affirmed on the night of the 10th of October, 
when some prowling Shawnoese, who had come down the Wabash, wounded one of the 
sentinels. Harrison sent a deputation of Miamis to the Prophet's town with a mes- 
sage to the impostor, requiring the Indians on the Tippecanoe to disperse immediately 
to their respective tribes. It also required the Prophet to restore all the stolen 
horses in his possession, and surrender the men who had murdered white people on 
the Indiana and Illinois frontiers. The messengers never returned with an answer. 

The fort was completed on the 28th of October. It was built upon a bluff thirty 
or forty feet above the Wabash, and covered about an acre of ground. On the day 
of its completion it was named, by the unanimous request of the officers present, Foet 
Haeeison, in honor of the governor. Colonel Daviess made a speech on the occasion. 
Standing over the gate, and holding a bottle of whisky in his hand, he said, in conclu- 
sion, " In the name of the United States, and by the authority of the same, I christen 
this Fort Harrison." He then broke the bottle over the gate, when a whisky-loving 
soldier, standing near, exclaimed, with the usual expletive, " It is too bad to waste 
whisky in that way — water would have done just as well." Less than a year after- 
ward that little fort became the theatre of heroic exploits under Captain Zachary 
Taylor, which jv^e shall consider hereafter. 

I visited Terre Haute and the site of Fort Harrison late in September, _ g^pj^^^^ ^e.. 
I860.* I had spent the previous day at Fort Wayne, in visiting and 
sketching the grave of Little Turtle, the great Miami chief, and other places of inter- 
est about that histori c city. A storm had just ended, and the sky was still mu rky 

1 I am indebted to Mr. D. H. Poignard, of Tayloreville, Kentucky, for a very interesting narrative of this campaign, 
taken by him from the lips of Captain Funk in 1862, then aged eighty years, and enjoymg good health of mmd and 
body on his fertile farm eight miles from Louisville. Mr. Funk was a native of Maryland, where he was born m 1782- 
He was of German descent. His narrative is clear, and exceedingly interesting, and I have availed myself of its valttar 
ble information in compiling the account ofthis memorable campaign. _ _ 

Captain Funk says that Governor Harrison was in Louisville in August, 1811,- when the narrator was in command of 
a company of militia cavalry there. At Harrison's personal request he hastened to Governor Scott, and obtained per- 
mission to raise a company of cavalry to join the forces of the Governor of Indiana at Vincennes, for an expedition up 
the Wabash. Haijison also call- ^,,_ . Sandusky ; bnt, before leaving 

ed for a company of infantry, to /fTC ~^ ^_^ A. Lomsville, he concluded that 

be raised by Captain James Hunt- // (^Oj/l^ ^^^/r^J/7> ^""^-^ T''n\^-'"f \^ '^^^^^ 
er, who was afterward second in ^^J^-Z-t*^ ^CY^Y sufficient. Captain Funk raised 

command, under Colonel Crog- C^^ \ h^s company ra the course of a 

ban, at Fort Stephenson, on the ,^^^. , few days,^and early m September 

ioined Colonel BartholonieWs regiment, then marching on Vincennes. At this place they found Colonel Joseph H. Da- 
viess, with two other volunteers (James Mead and Ben. Saunders) from Lexington, the colonel's 'hen place of residence: 
There were with him, also, four young gentlemen from Louisville, namely, George Croghan, John O'Fallon, a miHi<»i-. 

ain of St. Louis in 1862, Moore, afterward a captain in the TJ. S. Army, and -^ Hynes , ^ . 

The signature of Captain Funk (then bearing the title of Major), above given, is copied from a note to me from him^ 

written in September, 1861. , ... *^iTTT7-ii.oi 

" Fort Knox was erected by Major Hamtramck in 1T8T, and named in honor of General Heniy Knox, the Secretary 

of War. 



196 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

A Night at Peru. A Political Campaign. UnpleaBant Experience at Indianapolie. 

when we left, at two in the afternoon, for Indianapolis. We arrived at Peni, a little 
village on the Wabash fifty-six miles west of Fort Wayne, at sunset. The dull clouds 
had lifted the space of a degree from the horizon, and allowed the last rays of the sun 
to give glory to the thoroughly saturated country for a few minutes, before the lu- 
minary disappeared behind the forests that skirted a wide prairie on the west. 

At Peru, a railway leading southward, to the capital of Indiana connects with the 
Toledo and Wabash Road, over which we had traveled. But there was no evening 
connection, and we were compelled to remain among the Peruvians until morning. 
Theirs is a small village. Town and taverns were filled with people, drawn thither 
by the two-fold attraction of a county fair and a desire to go to Indianapolis in the 
morning, where the late Judge Douglas, one of the candidates for the Presidency of 
the United States, was to speak. I found a crowd of railway passengers around the 
register of the inn where I stopped, all anxious to secure good lodgings for the night. 
The applicants were many, and the beds proportionately few. I was fortunate enough 
to have for my room-companion for the night. Judge Davis, of Bloomington, Illinois, 
a gentleman of great weight in the West, and an ardent personal friend of the late 
President Lincoln. He declared that, if his friend should be elected, he would be 
found to be "the right man in the right place." Judge Davis is now (1867) one of 
the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

Having half an hour to spare before supper and the approaching darkness, I strolled 
around the village, that lies upon a rolling plain and along the banks of the beauti- 
ful Warbash — beautiful, indeed, because of variety in outline, greenness of verdure, 
and its fringes of graceful trees and shrubbery. Many of the trees were more ancient 
than the dominion of the white man there, and others were as young as the town 
near by, so lately sprung up from the shadows of the wilderness. A canal, with 
muddy banks, dug along the margin of the river, somewhat marred the beauty of 
the scene. It was quite dark when I retired to the inn, having called on the way at 
the house of Mr. G-rigg, whose wife is a daughter of the Little Turtle. They were 
absent, and I missed, the anticipated pleasure of an interview with one whose father 
bore such a conspicuous part in the history of the Northwest. 

I left Peru, in company with Judge Davis, at six o'clock the following morning, 
and reached Indianapolis at ten. It was a sunny day. The town was rapidly filling 
with people pouring in by railways and common roads from all directions. Flag's 
were flying, drums were, beating, marshals were hurrying to and fro, and" the crowds 
were flowing toward the "Bates House," the common centre of attraction, where 
Judge Douglas was receiving his friends in a private parlor, and waiting for the ap- 
pointed hour when he should go out and speak to the people on the political topics 
of the day. Over the broad street a splendid triumphal arch was thrown, and every 
avenue to the hotel was densely thronged with eager expectants. I made my way 
through the living sea, and registered my name for dinner at the " Bates," expecting 
to leave for Terre Haute at evening. After spending an hour with Mr. Dillon, au- 
thor of the latest history of Indiana, I was informed that a train would leave for the 
West at meridian. So I again elbowed my way through the crowd just as Judge 
Douglas was entermg his carriage, and, with the shouts of twenty thousand voices 
rmging in my ears, I escaped to the empty streets, and reached the railway station 
just m time for the midday train. I was soon reminded that I had involuntarily 
made a liberal contribution to some light-fingered follower of the itinerant candidate 
for the crown of civic victory. I had been relieved of the present care of that subtle 
magician thus apostrophized by Byron : 

" Thon more than stone of the philosopher 1 
Thou touchstone of Philosophy herself! 
Thou bright eye of the mine ! thon loadstar of 
The soul ! thou true magnetic pole, to which 
All hearts point duly north, like trembling needles !" 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



19Y 



Visit to Terre Haute afid the Site of Port Harrison. 



Sketch of tlie Fort. 



A Traveler in Trouble. 



. Terre Haute (high land) is seventy-three miles westward of Indianapolis. It is a 
•pleasant village, and the capital of 'Vigo County. It then contained less than two 
thousand inhabitants. It is on a high plain on the left bank of the Wabash, and is 
one of the most delightfdl summer residences in all that region. We arrived there 
at' four o'clock in the afternoon. Hoping to visit the site of Fort Harrison that even- 
ing,- so as to leave in the morning, I immediately sought a gentleman in the village 
to whom I had a letter of introduction. The town was almost depopulated by the 
attractions of a county fair in its neighborhood. The- afternoon was so pleasant that 
•men, women, and children had all gone to the exhibition, and not a vehicle of any 
kind could be found to convey me to the fort, over two miles distant. After wasting 
more than an hour in fruitless attempts to procure one, I fell back on my unfailing 
reserve, and started off on foot. It was twilight when I reached the spot — twilight 
too dim to make a sketch of the locality. The old sycamore and elm trees that were 
there in their early maturity when the fort was built yet stand along the bank be- 
tween the canal and the ruin, and on the western shore of the Wabash opposite may 
still be seen the fine old timber upon the low and frequently-overflowed bottom ; but 
nothing of the fort remained excepting the logs of one of the block-houses, which 
then (1860) formed the dwelling of Cornelius Smock within the area of the old stock- 
ade. I had the good-fortune to meet an old man (in my haste I forgot to inquire his 
name), when near the site of the fort, who was there in 1813, soon after Captain Tay- 
lor's defense of it. He pointed out the exact locality, and gave me such a minute 
description of the structure, 
that I made a rough outline 
of it on the spot, a finished 
copy of which is seen in the 
picture. He pronounced it 
perfect according to his rec- 
ollection. Its truthfiilness 
was confirmed on my return 
to the Terre Haute House 
by a picture, made in like 
manner a few years ago from 
the recollections of old peo- 
ple, and lithographed. \ It 
was placed in my hands by 
Mr. Ralston, of the gas- 
works ; and I was surprised 
to find such a perfect agree- 
ment, even in detail. I have 

no doubt the engraving here ■ ,„,„ 

given is a truthful representation of Fort Harrison and its surroundmgs m 1813. 

I left Terre Haute for Crawfordsville, Indiana, at three o'clock m the . September 27, 
morning,^ checking my luggage (as I thought) to the Junction near ^^- 

Greencastle,the capital of Putnam County, where the Louisville New Albany, and 
Chicago Eailway crosses that of the Terre Haute and Richmond. _ By mistake my 
trunk was checked for Philadelphia, and was not left at the Junction. I found the 
telegraph •operator in his bed half a mile from the station but he could not send a 
message with effect before seven o'clock, at which time my luggage would be beyond 
Indianapolis, making its way toward Philadelphia at the rate of twenty-five miles an 
hour The winged electricity was more fleet than the harnessed steam. It headed 
the fugitive at Richmond, a hundred miles distant, and at two o'clock m the after- 
noon, it was brought back a prisoner to Greencastle Station, much to my relief I 

-^ 1 Published by Modesitt and Eager in the year 1848. 




POET HASEISON. 



198 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



GreeEcastle and CrawfordsviUe. A Visit to the Foan der of Crawfordsville. Two of Wayne's Soldiera. 

think I never saw so much beauty in an old black leather trunk before nor since. 
Meanwhile I had pretty thoroughly explored Greencastle, chiefly before daylight, 
when trying to find my way back to the station from the telegraphist's lodgings. 
Every street appeared to end^at a vacant lot. At length, just at dawn, I received 
directions from an Irishman, with an axe on his shoulder, more explicit than clear. 
" Is it the dapo' you want ?" he inquired. " Yes." " Will, thin," he said, " jist turn 
down to the lift of the Prisbytarian Church that's not finished, and go by the way of 
the church that m. finished; turn right and lift as'many times as ye plaze,and bedad 
ye'll be there." Perfectly satisfied I walked on, found the station by accident, wait- 
ed patiently for, the telegraphist, and then went to the village, half a mile distant, to 
breakfast. 

Greencastle is pleasantly situated upon a high table-land, sloping every way, about 
a mile east of the Walnut Fork of the Eel Kun, and then contained between two 
thousand and three thousand inhabitants. I remained there until three o'clock in 
the afternoon, when I left for Crawfordsville, twenty-eight miles northward, where I 
met my family and remained a few days, the guest of the Honorable (afterward Ma- 
jor General) Lewis Wallace, the gallant commander first of the celebrated Eleventh 
Indiana Regiment in Western Virginia, and afterward of loyal brigades and di- 
visions in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Northern Mississippi, in the late Civil War.' 
There I met the Honorable > since 1833, and for fifteen 

Isaac Naylor, who was with ^ /p^ V^I^^V~) l^^"^^ ^^^ Judge of the Cir- 
Harrison at the battle of c^ xy/'^^k^'^^Cy^/^^Q^ cuit Court. From him I 
Tippecanoe. He had been ^ '^2^7 obtained much valuable ih- 

a resident of Crawfordsville formation concerning the in- 

cidents of the battle of Tippecanoe and the preceding march of the army from Vin- 
cennes.^ 

I also visited, at Crawfordsville, the late venerable Major Ambrose Whitlock, one 
of the last survivors of General Wayne's army in the Northwest. He was first under 
the immediate command of Hamtramck, and afterward served as aid to Wayne, and 
became lieutenant in the company of which Harrison was captain. Major Whitlock 
was the founder of Crawfordsville. He was at the head of the Land-office in Indiana, 
as receiver of the public moneys of the United States', for eight years. William H. 
Crawford, Monroe's Secretary of the Treasury, appointed him to that station. The 
office was at Terre Haute. It was finally determined to establish an office in another 
part of the Territory for the convenience of the settlers, and the selection of the lo- 
cality was left to the judgment of Major Whitlock. He found in the wilderness near 
Sugar Creek, in a thickly-wooded dell, a spring of excellent water, and resolved to 
establish the ne\)j| Land-oflSce near that desirable fountain. Settlers came. He laid 
out a village, and named it Crawfordsville, in honor of his friend of the Treasury De- 
partment. He resided there ever afterward. His house was upon a gentle eminence 
eastward of the railway, and the wooded dell and the ever-flowing spring of sweet 
water formed a part of his premises on the eastern borders of the village. Major Whit- 
lock^ was ninety-one' years of age at the time of my visit, yet his mental faculties 

1 For an account of General Wallace's military services, see Lossing's Pictorial History of the Civil War. 

"> Judge Naylor was bom in Kockingham County, Virginia, on the 30th of July, 1790, and at the age of three years was 
taken by his family to a settlement near Euddle's Station, Bourbon County, Kentucky. He removed to Clarke County, 
Indiana, in 1805, and in 1810 made a voyage to New Orleans on a flat-boat. He repeated it next year,'and soon after 
his return, and while preparing for college, he joined Harrison's army at Vincennes as a volunteer in Captain James Big- 
ger's company. He assisted in the construction of Fort Harrison, participated in the battle of Tippecanoe soon after- 
ward, and, at different times during the war with Great Britain that ensued, served as a volunteer, but was not in any 
other battle. In 1860 he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas of Montgomery County. 

' Ambrose Whitlock was bom at Bowling Green, Caroline County, Virginia, on the 25th of April, 1769. At an early 
age he went to Kentucky. He enlisted in Wayne's army, and was with him throughout his Indian campaigns. At one 
time he was his aid. He was five years in garrison at Fort Washington (Cincinnati) as sergeant. President Adams 
commissioned him lieutenant in 1800. In 1802 he was appointed assistant military agent at Vincennes, and also assistant 
paymaster. He became district paymaster in 1805, a first lieutenant in the regular army In 1807, and a captain in 1812. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. I99 

Journey from CrawfordsTille to Lafayette. Political Excitement at Lafa yette. Political PartieB at that Time. 

were quite vigorous. Unlike many sol- 
diers of the past, a large portion of his life 
was blessed with an affluence of health 
and fortune. 

On the evening of a sultry day, the last 
one of September, we left Crawfordsville 
for Lafayette, Indiana, twenty-eight miles 
northward, with the intention of visiting 
the Tippecanoe battle-ground the next 
morning. The country through which we 
passed for the first few miles was hilly, and 
heavily timbered, and the foliage was be- 
ginning to assume the gorgeoxxs hues of 
autumn. It was the first evidence we had 
seen of the actual departure of summer, for 
nearly all September had been more like 
August in temperature, than itself We 
soon reached a small prairie, the first we 
had seen, and at eight o'clock arrived at 
Lafayette. The town, containing full ten 
thousand inhabitants, was all alive with 
political excitement, the " Douglas Democrats" and the " Republicans'" both holding 
public meetings there. The former, convened at a hotel, was addressed by Herschel 
V. Johnson, of Georgia, the " Douglas" candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the Ilnited 
States ; the latter, held in the court-house, was addressed by Mr. Howard, member of 
Congress from Michigan, whom I had met a few days before at the table of Senator 
Lane, of Crawfordsville. Torch-light processions of the " "Wide-awakes" and the 
" Little Giants"^ followed the speeches ; and as they marched and countermarched in 
the same streets at the same time, they became so entangled to the eye of the specta- 
tor that it was difficult for a partisan to recognize his own political representative in 
the moving illumination. This was followed by drum-beatings and huzzas, which 
were kept up until midnight. 




-<7%€t^c4 



He relinqnisbed his rank in the line in June, IS14, and in May, 1S15, was appointed deputy paymaster general of the dis- 
trict composed of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. He was disbanded in 1816, having served in the army twenty-three 
years and a half, and attained to the rank of major. He was never in military service afterward. After serving eight 
years as receiver of the public moneys in Indiana, he was dismissed by General Jackson to make room for some one 
else. It is supposed that not half a dozen soldiers of Wayne's army now (1867) survive. In the possession of Mr. Dil- 
lon at Indianapolis I saw a dagneiijfotype of Martin Huckleberry, one of Wayne's array, then (September, 1860) just 
taken from life ; and in Bangor, Maine, I saw in November, 1860, Henry Van Meter, a colored man, over ninety years of 
age, who was also (n "Mad Anthony's" army. I am indebted to General Wallace for the portrait of Major Whitlock, from 
which this engraving was made. It was taken when he was in his ninety-flrst year. He died at his residence in Craw- 
fordsville on the 26th of June, 1863, when over ninety-four years of age. 

' There was a schism in the great Democratic party, so-called, in the spring of 1860, when one portion nominated Ste- 
phen A. Douglas, of Illinois, for the Presidency, and were called the " Douglas Democrats," and the other portion nom- 
inated John C. Breckinridge, of Kentucky, then the Vice-President of the United States, and were known as the 
"Breckinridge Democrats." Opposed to the entire Democratic party was the Republican, a political organization of a 
few years' standing, composed of men of all the old parties, whose leading distinctive object was the prevention of the 
extension of slavery beyond the states and Territories in which it already existed. This party had nominated Abraham 
Lincoln, of Illinois, for President. A fourth party, professedly conservative, and calling themselves the Union party, 
nominated John Bell, of Tennessee, for President, and Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, for Vice-President. They 
were frequently called the Bell-Everett party. At the election in November, 1860, these four candidates were supported 
by their respective friends. Mr. Lincoln was elected. Mr. Douglas died in the city of Chicago early in the following 
Jvfie. Mr. Bell had already declared his affiliation with rebels in arms against the government ; while Mr. Breckin- 
ridge, a lately-chosen senator from Kentucky, only waited for the close of the extraordinary session of Congress, held 
in July, and the payment of his salary from the Treasury of the United States, to openly declare himself an enemy to 
that country, and become a traitor by taking up arms to overthrow the government. 

= Eepnblican associations, pledged to the support of the candidates of that party, werfe formed all over the free-labor 
states in 1860. They wore round capes, and oftentimes lights on their hats, and assumed the name of "Wide-awakes." 
They formed the staple of Republican torch-light processions in the autumn of 1860. Mr. Douglas was a short, powerful 
man. In allusion to his mental strength and shortness in stature, he was called by his admirers the Little Giant. The 
young men of his party formed associations like the " Wide-awakes," called themselves " Little Giants," and formed the 
staple of the torch-light processions of the Douglas party in the autumn of 1860. 



200 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Indian Portraits. 



Jonmey to the Battle-groiind of Tippecanoe. 



Harrison's Marcli up tlie Wabash Valley. 



At Lafayette I met Mr. George Winter, an English artist who has resided many 
years in Indiana, and had-the pleasure of inspecting his fine collection of Indian por- 
traits and scenes painted by him from nature. His collection possesses much histor- 
ical and ethnological value, and ought to be in the possession of some institution 
where it might be preserved and the individuals never separated. He was intimate- 
ly acquainted with many of the characters whose features he has delineated, and he 
has collected stores of anecdotes and traditions of the aboriginals of the Northwest. 
The memory of Mr. Winter's kind attentions while we were in Lafayette is very 
pleasant. 

The first day of October dawned brightly, and the temperature of the air was like 
that of early June. Before sunrise we visited the artesian well of sulphur-water in 
the public square, the result of a deep search for pure water. A neat pavilion covers 
it ; cups are furnished for the thirsty, and not far off are baths of it for invalids and 
others. 

At an early hour we departed for the battle-ground of Tippecanoe, seven miles 
northward. We passed over a level and pleasant country most of the way, crossing 
the railway several times. Within three miles of the battle-ground we crossed the 
Wabash on ai cable-bateau,^ and watched with interest the perilous fording of the 
stream just above, near the railway bridge, by a man and woman in a light wagon. 
Twice they came near being submerged in 
deep channels, but finally reached the shoro 
with only wet feet. The man saved the It r- 
riage fee of twelve cents. 

We arrived at the Battle-ground House .i1 
ten o'clock, passing the scene of the contlji-l 
just before reaching it. Resting in the lool 
shadows of the stately trees that still 0()\ cr 
the spot, let us turn to the chronicle of I lie 
Past and study the events which have madi- 
this gentle elevation, overlooking a "wet pi.ii- 
rie," classic ground. 

Fort Harrison, as we have seen, was com- 
pleted on the 28th of October. It was u.ii- 
risoned by a small detachment under LieuU'ii- 
ant-colonel Miller — the "I'll try, sir!" hero nl 
the battle of Niagara, three years later. Ihe 
main body of the army moved forward the 
a October 29 i^^^i day," and on. the 31st, SQon 

1811- after passing the Big 
Raccoon Creek, crossed to the 
western side of the Wabash, near 
the site of the present village of 
Montezuma, in Parke County.^ 
There the troops were joined by some of the Kentucky volunteers, under Wells, 
Owen, and Geiger.^ Harrison was commander-in-chief by virtue of his office as gov- 




V.: ^ 




1 These were large flat-boats for conveying passengers, teams, and freight. They are pushed across by poles at low 
water, and at high water are secured and assisted in the passage by a huge cable stretched from shore to shore. 

2 Dillon's Hiattyry of Indiana, page 462. 

3 Having been informed that the Indians were more numerous in his front than he had anticipated, Governor Harri- 
son had sent Colonel Daviess and one or two others to Kentucky to apply for a re-enforcement of five hundred men. 
Brigadier General Wells immediately ordered out his brigade and beat up for volunteers. The privates hanging back 
Wells and several of his officers stepped out, and beingjoined by some of the file, the volunteers mustered thirty-two 
men. They elected Colonel F. Geiger as their captain. The reluctance of the men to turn out was owing in part to 
their scruples, the brigade having been ordered out without orders from the Governor of Kentucky. The governor be- 
ing at Frankfort, there was no time to consult him Funk's Ifarratwe. 



• OF THE WAR OF 1812. 201 

First Appearance of hostile Indians. The Prophet's Town approaehed. The Indians alarmed. 

ernor of the Territory, and Boyd was his next in command. The whole force con- 
sisted of nine hundred and ten men, and was composed of two hundred and fifty 
regulars uiider Boyd, sixty volunteers from Kentucky, and six hundred Indiana mili- 
tia. The mounted men, consisting of dragoons and riflemen, amounted to about two 
hundred and seventy. The command of the dragoons was given to Colonel Daviess, 
and of the riflemen to General Wells, both having the relative rank of major. 

The army was near the Vermilion River on the 2d of November, and there, on the 
western bank of the Wabash, built a block-house twenty-five feet square, in which 
eight men were placed, to protect the boats employed in bringing up provisions for 
the army. On the following day* the army moved forward, and on the . NoTemijer s, 
5th encamped within eleven miles of the Prophet's town. Harrison had i^^^- 

been careful, on the preceding day, to avoid the dangerous passes of Pine Creek, 
whose banks, for fifteen or twenty miles from its mouth, were immense cliffs of rock, 
where a few men might dispute the passage of large numbers.^ 

From their encampment on the 5th, looking northward, stretched an immense prai- 
rie, extending far beyond the limits of vision. It reached to the Illinois at Chicago, 
the guides asserted. It filled the troops, who had never been on the northwest side 
of the Wabash, with the greatest astonishment ; but their attention was soon drawn 
from the contemplation of nature to watchfulness against the wiles of their own spe- 
cies. Until now they had seen no Indians, though often discovering their trails. On 
the following day," when within five or six miles of the Prophet's town, ^ j^^^g^^^g^ ^ 
they were seen hovering around the army on every side. The approach 
of the troops had become known to the Prophet, and his scouts, numerous and saga- 
cious, watched every step of the invaders. Great caution was now necessary, and 
the same order of march which Harrison, as Wayne's aid, had planned for that gen- 
eral in 1794,2 he now adopted. The infantry marched in two Columns on both sides 
of the path, and the dragoons and mounted riflemen in front, rear, and on the flanks. 
To facilitate the march, and keep the troops in position for a quick and precise forma- 
tion into battle order in the event of an ambuscade, they were broken into short col- 
umns of companies. They had now left the open prairie, and were marching most 
of the time through open woods, the ground furrowed by ravines. Parties of In- 
dians were continually making their appearance, and Barron and other interpreters 
tried, but in vain, to speak to their leaders. Finally, when within a mile and a half 
of the Prophet's town, Toussaint Dubois, of Vincennes, offered to take a message to 
the mongrel warrior-pontiff. The menaces of the savages were so alarming that he 
soon turned back, and the army pressed forward toward the Tippecanoe. 

The alarmed savages now asked for a parley. It was granted. They assured Har- 
rison that the Prophet had sent back a friendly message by the Delaware and Miami 
couriers, but that they had gone down the eastern bank, and missed him on his march. 
They were surprised at his coming so soon, and hoped he would not disturb and fright- 
en their women and children by occupying their town. Harrison assu4-ed them that 
he was ready to have a friendly talk with them, and desired a good place for an en- 
campment They pointed to a Suitable spot back from the Wabash, on the borders 
of a creek less than a mile northwest from the Prophet's town. Two ofiicers (Majors 
Taylor and Clarke) were sent with Quarter-master Piatt to examine it, They report- 
ed that the situation was excellent. Harrison then parted with the chiefs who had 
come out to meet him, after an interchange of promises that no hostilities should be 
commenced until an interview should be held the followmg day. "I found the ground 
destined for the encampment," Harrison wrote, "not altogether such as I could wish 



.It.ashelieved1.at.eln^^^^^^^^^^ 
^fhTslS ^-nMrthfve^S Kiver, to ma.e=a diversion in favor of General Harn^ar's expe^Uion^on^he 
Manmee. 



202 



PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK- 



Harrison's Encampment on the Tippecanoe Battle-ground. 



Its Arrangement and Composition. 



it. It was, indeed, admirably calculated for the encampment of regular troops that 
were opposed to regulars, but it afforded great facility to the approach of savages. 
It was a piece of dry oak land, rising about ten feet above the level of a marshy prair 
rie in front (toward the Prophet's town), and nearly twice that height above a simi- 
lar prairie in the rear, through which, and near to this bank, ran a small stream clothed 
with willows and other brushwood. Toward the left flank this bench of land widened 
considerably, but became gradually narrower in the opposite direction, and at the dis- 
tance of one hundred and fifty yards from the right flank terminated in an abrupt 
point.'" No doubt the wily savages recommended this position that they might 
employ their peculiar mode of warfare advantageously. 

The above is a good description of the locality as it appeared when I visited itf in 
the autumn of 1 860. It was still covered with the same oaks ; on " the front," toward 
Wabash and Tippecanoe Creek, stretched the same " wet" or frequently overflowed 
prairie ; in " the rear" was the same higher bank, and prairie, and Burnet's Creek ; and 
at the " abrupt point" the Louisville, New Albany, and Chicago Eailway strikes the 
" bench of .land," and runs parallel with the common wagon-road along the bank over- 
looking the " wet prairie." In the annexed sketch, taken from " the alirupt point," 
looking northeast over the camp-ground, is seen the southern portion of the inclosure 

of the battle-field, near 
which Spencer's rifle- 
men were posted, indi- 
cated on the plan of 
the encampment on 
page 205. The horse- 
man denotes the direc- 
tion of the wet prairie 
toward the Prophet's 
town, and the steep 
bank seen on the left 
of the picture has Bur- 
net's Creek flowing at 
its base, and was still 
"clothed with wil- 
lows," shrubbery, and 
vines. 

Harrison arranged 
his camp with care on 
the afternoon of the 
6th of November, in 
the form of an irregular parallelogram, on account of the slope of the ground. On the 
front was a b&ttalion of United States infantry, under Major George Rogers Clarke 
FIoyd,2 flanked on the left by one company, and on the right by two companies of In- 
diana militia, under Colonel Joseph Bartholomew.' 'In the rear was a battalion of 
United States infantry, under Captain William C. Baen," acting as major, with Cap- 
tain Robert C. Barton,« of the regulars, in immediate cojnmand. These were support- 
ed on the right by four companies of Indiana militia, led respectively by Captains 




VIEW AT TIl'PEOiNOE JJATTLE-GKOUMD. 



» Harrison's dispatch to the Secretary of War from Vincennes, November 18, 1811 

' Was appointed Captain of the Seventh Infantry in 1808, and Major of the Fourth Infantry in 1810 In August 1S12 
he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of Seventh Infantry, and resigned in April, 1813. ^ ' ' 

jor oLraron^etl^^^a'TSo^'irAr''"'""'^"^ ^ 

thettHf Novemherisn*" ^°""' ""^"''^ '° ^^^' ^°* ^''* °'"' ''™°*° ™°''™* *° '"" *""'" "^ Tippecanoe en 
' First Lieutenant in Fourth Infantry in 1S08, promoted to captain in 1809, and resigned in September, 1812. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 203 



Harrison's Instmctions. . The Camp in Repose. The India nB in Commotion. The Prophet's Treachery. 

Josiah Snelling, Jr.,i John Posey, Thomas Scott, and Jacob Warrick, the whole com- 
manded by Lieutenant Colonel Luke Decker. The right flank, eighty yards wide, was 
filled with mounted riflemen, under Captain Spear Spencer. The left, about one hund- 
red and fifty yards in extent, was composed of mounted riflemen, under Major Gen- 
eral Samuel Wells,^ commanding as major, and led by Colonels Frederic!^ Geiger^ and 
David Robb, as captains. Two troops of dragoons, under Colonel Joseph H. Da- 
viess, acting as major, were stationed in the rear of the front line near the left flank ; 
and at a right angle with these companies, in the rear of the left flank, was a troop 
of cavalry as a reserve, under Captain Benjamin Parke.* Wagons, baggage, officers' 
tents, etc., were in the centre. 

Having completed the arrangement of his camp and supped, Harrison summoned 
the field-officers to his tent by a signal, and gave them instructions. He ordered that 
each corps that formed the exterior line of the camp should hold its ground, in case 
of an attack, until relieved. In the event of a night attack, the cavalry were to pa- 
rade dismounted, with their pistols in their belts, and act as a corps de reserve. Two 
captains' guards, of forty-two privates each, and two subalterns', of twenty each, were 
detailed to defend the catop. The whole were commanded by the field-officer of the 
day. Thus prepared, the whole camp, except the sentinels and guards, were soon 
soundly sleeping. There was a slight drizzle of rain at intei-vals, and the darkness 
was intense, except occasionally when the clouds parted and faint moonlight came 
through. 

Quite difierent was the condition of affairs in the Indian camp. There was no sleep 
there. Both parties had agreed to parley before fighting, and there should have been 
no excitement ; but the dusky foe of the white man had no respect for truces. The 
unprincipled Prophet, surrounded by his dupes, pi-epared for treachery and murder as 
soon as the curtain of night had fallen upon the land.^ He brought out the Magic 
Bowl. In one hand he held the sacred torch, or " Medean fire," in the other a string 
of beans which he called holy, and were accounted to be miraculous in their effect 
when touched. His followers were all required to touch this talisman and be made 
invulnerable, and then to take an oath to exterminate the pale-fades. When this was 
accomplished, the Prophet went through a long series of incantations and mystical 
movements ; then turning to his highly-excited band, about seven hundred in num- 
ber, he told them that the time to attack the white men had come. " They are in 
your power," he said, holding up the holy beans as a reminder of their oath. "They 
sleep now, and will never awake. The Great Spirit will give light to us, and dark- 
ness to the white men. Their bullets shall not harm us ; your weapons shall be al- 

1 First Lieutenant in Fonrth Infantry in 1808, regimental 
paymaster in April, 1809, and promoted to captain in June the 
same year. He was breveted a major for gallantry at Browns- 
town, in Angnst, 1812. In April, 1813, was appointed assistant 
inspector general, with the rank of major, and in February, 
18U, was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Fourth Eeg- 
imbnt of Eiflemen. In April he received the commission of 
inspector general, with the rank of colonel. He was distin- 
guished atXyon's Creek, on the Chippewa, under General Bis- 
seii ; and when the army was placed on a peace footing in 1816 
he was retained as Lieutenant Colonel of the Sixth Infantry. 
He was promotod to Colonel of the Fifth in 1819. He died at Washington City on the 20th of August, 1828. 

2 He was a major in Adair's battalion of mounted riflemen, General Charies Scott's division of Kentucky \ olunteers, 
in 1793. He was afterward made Major General of the Kentucky Militia. He was appointed Colonel of the Seventeenth 
Eegiment of Infantry in Matfib, 1812, and was disbanded in May, 1814. ^ 

3 He afterward commanded a company of Louisville Volunteers under M^or General Harrison. 

4 Parke was promoted to major on this field of action by Governor Harrison for his gallant conduct. His company 
was discharged in November, 1812. „ . , »., , ^ ^,, .. 

5 It is believed that the treachery of the Indians did not take the shape of an attack on Harrison s camp until late that 
evening it having been primarily arranged that they should meet the governor in council, and appear to agree to his 
terms At the close the chiefs were to retire to their warriors, when two Winnebagoes, selected for the purpose, were 
to kill' the governor, and give the signal for the uprising of the Indians.-See Iniian Biography, by Samuel G. Drake, 
1832 ; 12mo, page 33T. 




204 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Purioua Attack on Harrison's Camp. Good Behavior of raw Troops. Gallantry of M^or Daviess. 

ways fatal." Then followed war-songs and dances, until the Indians, wrought up to 
a perfect frenzy, rushed forth to attack Harrison's camp without any leaders, btealth- 
ily they crept through the long grass of the prairie in the deep gloom, intending to 
surround their enemy's position, kill the sentinels, rush into the camp, and massacre 

all ^ 

Harrison was in the habit of rising at four o'clock in the morning, calling his troops 
to arms, and keeping them so until broad daylight. On the morning of the 7th ot 
November he was just pulling on his boots at the usual hour, when a smgle gun was 
fired by a sentinel at the northwest angle of the camp, near the bank of Bumet s 
Creek This was instantly followed by the horrid yells of numerous savages m that 
quarter, .who opened a murderous fire upon the companies of Baen and G«iger that 
formed that angle. The foe had been creeping up stealthily to tomahawk the senti- 
nels, but the sharp eyes of .one of them had detected the moving savage in the gloom, 
and fired upon him with fatal efiect.^ Their assault was furious, and in their frenzy 
several Indians penetrated through the lines, but never to return. 

The whole camp was soon awakened by demon yells and a cry to arms, and the 
officers, with all possible speed and precision, in the faint light of smouldering fires, 
placed their men in battle order. These fires were then extinguished, for they were 
more useful to the assailants than to the assailed. Nineteen twentieths of the troops 
had never been in battle; yet, considering tbe alarming circumstances of the attack, 
their conduct was cool and gallant, and very little noise or confusion followed such a 
sudden awaking from sleep and call to defend life. The most of them were in line 
before they were fired upon, but some were compelled to fight defensively at the doors 
of their tents. 

Harrison called for his horse— a fine white charger— but in afiright the animal had 
pulled up the stake that held his tether, and could not be found. The governor im- 
mediately mounted a fine bay horse that stood snorting near, and with his aid, Colo- 
nel Owen, hastened to the angle of the camp where the attack was first made.^ He 
found that Barton's company had sufiefed severely, and the left of Geiger's was en- 
tirely broken. He immediately ordered Cook's company and that of the late Captain 
Wentworth, under Lieutenant Peters, to be brought up from the centre of the rear 
line, where the ground was much more defensible, and form across the angle in sup- 
port of Barton and Geiger. At that moment the governor's attention was directed 
to firing at the northeast angle of the camp, where a small company of United States 
riflemen, armed with muskets, and the companies of Baen, Snelling, and Prescott, of 
the Fourth Regiment, were stationed. There he found Major Daviess forming the 
dragoons in the rear of those companies. Observing heavy firing from some trees 
about twenty paces in front of them, he directed the major to dislodge them with a 
part of his dragoons. " Unfortunately," says Harrison in his dispatch to the Secre- 
tary of War, " the major's gallantry determined him to execute the order witli a 
smaller force than was sufficient, which enabled the enemy to avoid him in front and 

1 Daring the night a negro camp follower who had been missed from duty was found lurking near the governor's 
marquee, and arrested. He was tried after the battle by a drum-head court-martial, and was convicted of having de- 
serted to the enemy, and returned for the purpose of murdering the governor. He was sentenced to be hnng immedi- 
ately, but was saved in consequence of the kindness of heart of the governor. His imploring eyes touched Harrison's 
tender feelings, and he referred the matter to the commissioned officers present. Some were for his immediate execu- 
tion, when Snelling said, " Brave comrades, let us save him. The wretch deserves to die ; but as our commander, whose 
life was more particularly his object, is willing to spare him, let us also forgive him. I hope, at least, that every officer 
of the Fourth Regiment will be on the side of mercy." Ben was saved.— Harrison's letter to Governor Scott, of Ken- 
tucky, cited by Hall, page 149. Captain Funk, in his narrative, says the negro was the driver of Governor Harrison's 
cart, and that he informed the Indians that the white people had no cannon with them. Cannon were the dread of the 
savages. Doubtless this infoi-mation caused a change in the policy mentioned in note 5, page 203, and caused the sav- 
ages to conclude to attack the pale-faces. 

' Judge Naylor, of Crawfordsville, already mentioned as a participant in the battle, informed me that the name of the 
sentinel who first fired and gave the alarm was Stephen Mare, of Kentucky. He fired, and fled to the camp, but was 
shot before reaching it. 

' a statement of Judge Naylor. Captain Funk says that Harrison's own white horse was ridden by Major Taylor, the 
generaVs aid, against his wishes. 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



Battle of Tippecanoe. 



205 



The Severity of the Battle. 



Death of Major Daviess. 

attack him on his flanks. The major was mortally wounded,i and his party driven 
back.. Harrison immediately promoted Captain Parke to Daviess's rank iust as in- 
telligence was brought to him that Captain Snelling, with his company of regulars 
had driven the savages from their murderous position with heavy loss. 



TIPPECANOE 




The battle now became more general. The Indians attacked the camp on the 
whole front and both flanks, and a portion of the rear line. They fell with great se- 
verity upon Spencer's mounted riflemen on the right and the right section of War- 
rick's company, which formed the southwest angle of the encampment. Spencer and 
his lieutenant were killed, and Warrick was mortally wounded, and yet their men 
gallantly maintained their position. They were speedily re-enforced by Robb's rifle- 
men, who had been driven or ordered by mistake from their position on the left flank 
toward the centre of the camp, and at the same time Prescott's company of the 
Fourth Regiment was ordered to fill the space vacated by the riflemen, the grand 
object being to maintain the lines of the camp unbroken until daylight, when the as- 

' The letter B in the plan marks the spot where Daviess fell. It vpas near an oak whose top was blown off in a gale 
a few years ago. It is seen in the sketch of the battle-gronnd as it appeared in 18G0, printed on page 209. 

= Daviess was gallant and impatient of restraint. One of his party was General Washington Johns, of Vincennes, a 
quarter-master of the dragoons, who was intimate with Harrison. Daviess sent him to the governor when the Indians 
first made the attack at this point, asking permission to go out on foot and charge the foe. "Tell Major Daviess to be 
patient ; he shall have an honorable station before the battle is over," Harrison replied. In a few moments Daviess 
repeated the request, and the governor made the same reply. Again he repeated it, when Harrison said, "Tell Major 
Daviess he has heard my opinion twice ; he may now use his own discretion." The gallant major, with only twenty 
picked men, instantly charged beyond the lines on foot, and was mortally wounded. He was a conspicuous mark in 
the gloom, because he wore a white blanket coat.— Statements of Judge Naylor and Captain Funk. The latter says Col- 
onel Daviess's horse was a roan bought of Frank Moore, of Lonlsville. The Indians were masked by some fallen tim- 
ber. Captain Punk attended him at about nine o'clock ; assisted in changing his clothes, and dressing his wounds. He 
was shot between the right hip and ribs, and it was believed that the fatal bullet proceeded from the ranks of his friends 
firing in the gloom. Daviess was afraid the expedition might be driven away hastily, and leave those wounded behind. 
He exacted a promise, from Captain Fnnk that in no event would he leave him to fall into the hands of the savages. 



206 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Defeat of the Indians. The Prophet In Disgrace. Return of th e Army to Yincennea. 

sailed would be able to make a general charge upon a visible foe. To do this re- 
quired great activity on the part^ of the commander. Harrison was constantly rid- 
ing from point to point within the camp, and kept the assailed positions re-enforced. 
Finally, when the day dawned, he discovei-ed the larger portion of the Indians to be 
on the two flanks. He accordingly strengthened these, and was about to order the 
cavalry, under Parke, to charge upon the foe on the left, when Major Wells, not un- 
derstanding Harrison's intentions, led the infantry to perform that duty. It was ex- 
ecuted gallantly and effectually. The Indians were driven at the point of the bay- 
onet, and the dragoons pursued them into the wet prairies on both sides of the ridge 
on which the battle was fought. The ground was too soft for the horsemen to pur- 
sue, and the savages escaped. Meanwhile the Indians had been charged and put to 
flight on the right flank, and had also taken refuge in the marshy ground, chiefly on 
the side of Burnet's Creek, where they were sheltered from view.^ 

Looking eastward from the site of the battle-ground over the " wet- prairie" (now 
a fenced and cultivated plain) toward the Wabash, the visitor will see a range of 
very gentle hills, covered with woods. On one of these the Prophet stood while the 
battle was raging on that dark November morning, at a safe distance from danger, 
singing a war-song and performing some protracted religious mummeries. When 
told that his followers were falling before the bullets of the white men, he said, 
" Fight on, it will soon be as I told you." When at last the fugitive warriors of 
many tribes — Shawnoese, Wyandots, Kickapoos, Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, 
Winnebagoes, Sacs, and a few Miamis — lost their faith, and covered the Prophet 
with reproaches, he cunningly told them that his predictions had failed because, dur- 
ing his incantations, his wife touched the sacred vessels and broke the charm ! Even 
Indian superstition and credulity could not accept that transparent falsehood for an 
excuse, and the impostor was deserted by his disappointed followers, and compelled 
to take refuge with a small band of Wyandots on Wild-cat Creek. The foe had 
scattered in'all directions into places where the white man could not well follow. 

" Sonnd, sound the charge ! spur, spur the steed, 
And swift the fugitives pursue : 
'Tis vain ; rein in — your utmost speed 
Could not o'ertake the recreant crew. 
In lowland marsh, in dell or cave, 
Each Indian sought his life to save ; 
Whence peering forth, with fear and ire, 
Ho saw his Prophet's town on fire." 

• November 8, When, on the day after the battle,^' Harrison and his army advanced 
1^11- upon the Prophet's iown, they found it deserted. After getting all the 

copper kettles they could find, and as much beans and corn as they could carry away, 
they applied the torch, and the village and a large quantity of corn were speedily re- 
duced to ashes. Six days afterward the army, bearing the wounded in twenty-two 
wagons, reached Fort Harrison on its return to Vincennes. Captain Snelling, with 
his company of regulars, was left to garrison the fort, and, on the 18th of the month, 
the remainder of the army, excepting some volunteers disbanded the day before, 
were at Fort Knox, in the capital, of the Indiana Territory. The immediate result 
of the expedition was to scatter the Prophet's warriors on the Wabash, frustrate the 
scheme of Tecumtha, and give temporary relief to the settlers in Indiana. 

Tecumtha, who was really a great man (while the Prophet was a cunning dema- 
gogue and cheat — a tool in the hands of his brother), was absent among the South- 

1 Harrison's dispatch to Dr. Eustis, Secretary of War, November 18, 1811 ; M'Afee's Histm-n of the Late War in the West- 
ern Country, pages 22-30 ; Onderdonk's MS. Life of Tecumsah ; Drake's Indian Biography ; HalVs Ufa of Harrison, pages 
132-140 ; Dillon's History of Indiana, pages 447-472 ; statements to the author by Judge Naylor, of Crawfordsville, In- 
diana, and Major Funk, of Kentucky. 

The 7th was passed in burying the dead and strengthening the encampment, for rumors were plenty that Tecumtha 
was coming to the aid of his brother with a thousand warriors. "Night," says Captain Funk, "found every man 
mounting guard, without food, Are, or light, and in a drizzly rain. The Indian dogs, during the dark hours, produced 
fregnent alarms by prowling in search of carrion about the sentinels." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 207 



Tecamtha disappointed. Eeci-niting-tou r of the Prophet. Life and Character of Major Daviess. 

era Indians when the battle of Tippecanoe occurred. He returned soon afterward, 
and found all his schemes frustrated by the folly of the Prophet. The sudden un- 
popularity of the impostor deprived him of a strong instrument in the construction 
of his confederacy, to which his life and labors had been long directed with the zeal 
of a true patriot. He saw his brightest visions dissipated in a moment. Mortified, 
vexed, and exasperated, and failing to obtain the acquiescence of Governor Harrison 
in his proposition to visit the President with a deputation of chiefs, he abandoned all 
thoughts of peace, and became a firm ally of the British, i 

In the battle of Tippecanoe Harrison lost, in killed and wounded, one hundred and 
eighty-eight.2 It was a hard-fought and well-fought battle, and attested both the 
skill and bravery of Harrison. ^ The expediency and conduct of the campaign were 
topics for much discussion, and elicited not a little severity of censure from the op- 
ponents of the administration and of war. Harrison was a personal and political 
friend of President Madison, and this gave license to the opposition to make him a 
target for denunciatory volleys. His prudence, his patriotism, his military skill, his 
courage, were all brought in question ; and some claimed the chaplet of fame for the 
victory gained, for the brow of Colonel Boyd.* But time, the great healer of dissen- 

1 Blkswatawa (the Prophet) now started on a recruiting-tour among the various tribes on the Upper Lakes and Mis- 
sissippi, all of which he visited with astonishing success. He entered the villages of his most inveterate enemies, and 
of others who had not even heard his name, and so manceuvred as to make his mystery-fire and sacred string of beans 
a safe passport through all their settlements. He enlisted some eight or ten thousand warriors to flght the battles of his 
brother. He carried into every wigwam an image of a dead person the size of life, which was ingeniously made of 
some light material, and k«pt concealed under bandages of thin white muslin, and not to be opened to public scrutiny. 
Of this he made great mystery, and got his recruits to swear by touching the string of white beans attached to its neck. 
By his extraordinary cunning he carried terror wherever he went. If they did not obey him he threatened to make the 
earth tremble to its centre and darken the light of the sun. Nature seemed to conspire with the Prophet, for at this 
very time an earthquake extended along the Mississippi, demolishing houses and settling the ground. A comet, too, 
appeared in the north with fearful length of tail, and seemed a harbinger to the fulfillment of the predictions of the Proph- 
et. The sun was eclipsed, to the great terror of the savages, but, as the Prophet declared, it resumed its wonted bright- 
ness because of his intercession. But while in the full tide of success,' two rival chiefs of his own tribe dogged the foot- 
steps of the Prophet, denounced him as an impostor, and exposed his tricks.— Onderdonk's MS. lAfe ofTecumseh. 

2 He lost, in killed and wounded, ten oflicers, namely, one aid-de-camp, one major, three captains, two subalterns, one 
sergeant, and two corporals. Judge Naylor told me that the sergeant and himself were asleep at the same fire when 
the attack commenced, and that a bullet from an Indian's musket killed him as he was springing to his feet. Colonel 
Abraham Owen, Harrison's aid-de-camp, was killed early in the engagement, when he and the governor rode to the point 
of first attack. Letter A in the plan on page 205 marks the spot where he fell. He rode a white horse, and this made 
him a mark for the Indians. The enemies of Harrison afterward asserted that the latter, to conceal himself, had ex- 
changed horses with Owen. The fact was as I have stated — his own horse had scampered away in a fright, and he had 
mounted the first one near, which happened to be a dark-colored one. The horse Owen rode was his own. That offi- 
cer had joined him as a private of Geiger's company, and had been accepted as his volunteer aid. He was a good citi- 
zen and a brave soldier, and had been a member of the Kentucky Legislature. 

Among the mortally wounded, and who died before Harrison made his report, was Major Daviess, and Captains Baen 
and Warrick. Daviess, commonly called "Joe Daviess," was the most brilliant man in that little army, and was as 
brave as he was <)rilliant. He was a Virginian by birth, and at the time of his death was only thirty-seven years of age. 
He took a leading part against Aaron Burr in the West in 1806. Previous to that he had been a successful opponent of 
the Nicholases in political movements, they being Eepnblicans and he a Federalist. He was a great student, very ab- 
stemious, used a hewn block for a pillow, and a bed nearly as hard. His oratory was powerful, and Wilson C. Nicholas, 
the leader of that art in "Kentucky at the close of the last century, was often compelled to bend to his young rival. Al- 
luding to this power, a Tennessee poet (Robert Mack) wrote as follows, in a rhyming eulogy, after his death : 

" Emerging from his studious shed, 
Behold, behold him rise 1 
All Henry bursting from his tongue, 

And Marshall from his eyes. 
Chained by the magic of his voice, 
• Fierce- party spirit stood; 
E'en prejudice almost gave way. 
While with resistless reasoning's sway 
O'er far-famed Nicholas he rolled 
The oratorial flood." 
In ISM '02 Mr Daviess went to Washington City on professional business, and was the first Western lawyer who ever 
apneared'in the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Jefferson made him Attorney of the United States for the 
District of Kentucky He married a sister of Chief Justice Marshall, and always held a front rank m his profession. 
Daviess County, Kentucky, was named in his honor. He was wounded at about five o'clock in the morning of the 7th 
of November and survived until one o'clock in the afternoon of the same day. He was nearly six feet high, vigorous 
and athletic. He was bom in Bedford County, Virginia, on the 4th of March, ITM. ^ ,., v . ,, ■ 

3 Harrison was continually exposed during the action, but escaped unhurt. A bullet passed through his hat. Mfyor 
HeniT Hnrst, who was one of his aids-de-camp (and an active one) m this battle, and was the only lawyer who resided 
in Indiana while it was a Territory, died at Jeffersonville, on the Ohio, opposite Louisville, where he had lived forty 
years, on the Ist of January, 1855, in the eighty-fifth year of hij age. ,,,„,.,,...,,, 

» In his dispatch to the Secretary of War, Harrison said of Colonel Boyd : " The whoie of tl^e mfantry formed a email 



208 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Harrison and the Tippecanoe Battle. 



Tlie Battle-ground. 



A solemn Memorial Poem. 



sions, corrector of errors, and destroyer of party and personal animosities, has long 
since silenced the voice of detraction ; and the verdict of his countrymen to-day, as 
they study the record dispassionately, is coincident with that of his soldiers at the 
, time, and of the Kentucky Legislature shortly afterward,: who, on motion of the 
late venerahle member of Congress, John J., Crittenden, resolved, "That in the late 
campaign against the Indians on the "Wabash, Governor W. H. Harrison has, in the 
opinion of this , Legislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that 
for his cool, deliberate, skillful, and gallant conduct in the late battle of Tippecanoe, 
he deserves the warinest thanks of the nation." History, art, and song^ made that 
event the theme for pen, pencil, and voice ; and when, thirty years afterward, the 
leader of the fray was a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, he was 
every where, known by the familiar title of Old Tippecanoe. His partisans erected 
log-cabins in towns and cities, and ia them sang in chorus, 

"Hurrah for the father of all the green Westj 

For the Buckeye who follows the plow I 
The foemen in terror his valor confessed; 

And we'll honor the conqueror now. 
His country assailed -in the darkest of days, 

To her rescue impatient he flew ; 
The war-whoop's fell blast, and the rifle's red blaze, 

But awakened Old Tippecanoe." 

The battle-field of Tippecanoe has become classic ground. It belonged to the State 
of Indiana, and had been inclosed with a rude wooden fence for. several years, which, 
we were told, was soon to give place to an iron one. The inclosure comprised seven 
acres. It was a beautiful spot. The ground, gently undulating, and sloping from 
Battle-ground City^ (an infant in years and size), was still covered with the noble 
oaks. In the sketch here given, made when I visited it in October, 1860, the specta- 
tor is supposed to be standing just northward of the place where Major Wells's line, 
on the left flank, was formed (see a plan of the camp on page 205), and looking south- 
west over the once wet prairie toward the Wabash. On the extreme left, in the dis- 
tance, is seen the gentle eminence on which the Prophet stood during the battle, sing- 
ing his war-songs. Farther to the right, near the roW of posts, is a large tree with 
the top broken off. It marks the spot near which Daviess fell. There is only space 
enough between it and the verge of the prairie below for the common road and the 
railway. 

brigade, under the immediate orders of Colonel Boyd. The colonel throughout the action manifested equal zeal and 
bravery in carrying into execution my orders, in keeping the men to their posts, and exhorting them to flght with 
valor." Judge Naylor informed me that he heard Colonel Boyd frequently cry out, " Huzzah ! my sons of gold, the 
day is ours 1" ^ 

1 Among the many " verses composed on the occasion of the 
battle of Tippecanoe," none were more popular in the West, for 
a long time, than a string of solemn doggerel, printed on a 
small broadside of rough paper, at Frankfort, Kentucky. A copy 
lies before me. It is entitled, "A Bloody Battle between the 
United States Troops, under the command of Governor Harri- 
son, and several Tribes of Indians, near the Prophet's Town, 
November 7, ISll." At the head is a rude wood-cut, evidently 
made by an amateur for some other scene, for a camp exhibits 
two cannon. A little distance off are seen three Indians. I give' 
a fac-eimile of this remarkable " illustration" (of reduced size), as 
a specimen of the art in the West at that time. The following specimen of the "poetry" shows a " fitness of things" be- 
tween the rhyme and the picture : ' 

" Harrison, a commander of great renown. 
Led on our troops near by the Prophet's town ; 
After evils o'ercome and obstrnctions past. 
Near this savage town they encamped at last." 
Readers anxious to pemse the other seven verses will find the whole "poem" In the third volume of M'Cartv's Va 
tUmal Samj-hoQk, page 440. 

" This village is the child of a college located there, called The Batae-ground Institute; devoted to the education of 
both sexea. It was founded in 1868, and the village was soon afterward laid out. Both college and "city" are flour 
ishing. The former was under the charge of Eev: B. H. Staley when I was there, and contained almost three hundred 
pupils. The college is situated in a grove of oaks on the upper border of the battle-ground, and the shaded inclosure 
forms a delightful promenade and place for out-of-door study. Several students, with their books, were seen under the 
trees when we were there. 




OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



209 



Departure for Chicago, 



Journey across the Prairies. 



Thunder-Btorm. 



Arrival at Chicago. 




TIPPEOANOE BATTLE-GBOtTND IN ISfiO. 



We dined at the Battle-ground House, and departed for Chicago, one hundred and 
forty miles distant, at three o'clock in the afternoon. The journey was one of real 
pleasure. Soon after leaving, we entered a prairie, and traversed its dead level for 
seventy miles, passing some little villages on the way. It was rich with verdure and 
late praii-ie-flowers, and the broad expanse was dotted here and there in every di- 
rection, as far as the eye could comprehend, with clumps of tall trees and shrubbery, 
which appeared like islands in the midst of a vast green sea. Toward evening heavy 
black clouds gathered in the northwestern sky, and when we approached Michigan 
City that stands among the sand dunes at the head of Lake Michigan, just at sunset, 
we ran into a heavy thunder-shower that was sweeping around the majestic southern 
curve of that inland sea. Darkness soon came on, and as we approached Chicago, 
late in the evening, we encountered another shower. On lake and prairie the light- 
ning descended in frequent streams, and the thunder roared fearfully above the din 
of the dashing railway train. But all was serene when we arrived at Chicago. The 
stars were beaming brightly, and a young moon was just dipping its horn below the 
great prairie on the west. It had been a day of exciting pleasure as well as fatigue, 
and the night at the Richmond House was one of sweet repose for us all. 




fW*" «**. '■;"i«kKnw 







210 PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Meeting of the TwelftH Congress. Strength of Parties in that Body. 




CHAPTER XI. 

" Harli 1 the peal of war is rung ; 
Hark ! the song for battle's sung ; 
Firm he every hosom strung, 
And every soldier ready. 
, On to Quebec's embattled halls ! 
Who will pause when glory calls ? 
Charge, soldiers ! charge its lofty walls. 

And storm its strong artillery ! 
Firm as our n^ive hills we'll stand, 
And should the lords of Europe land, 
We'll meet them on the farthest strand ; 
We'll conquer or we'll die !" 

Feom the Teekton Tedb Ameeioah. 

NTELLIGENCE of the battle of Tippecanoe reached Washing- 
ton City soon after the Twelfth Congress had assembled, and 
produced a profound sensation in that body. They had been 
. convened by proclamation a month earlier^ than the . November 4, 
regular day of meeting. The affairs of the coun- ^^^^■ 

try were approaching a crisis, and this session was to be the 
most important of any since the establishment of the nation. 
Both political pai-ties came fully armed and well prepared for a 
desperate conflict. The Federalists were in a hopeless minority in both houses, but 
were strong in materials. They had but six members in the Senate, where even Mas- 
sachusetts, the home of the " Essex Junto," was represented by a Democrat in the 
person of the veteran Joseph B. Vamum, the speaker of the last House, who had 
been chosen to supersede Timothy Pickering.^ Giles, of Virginia, having joined a 
faction similar to Randolph's " Quids" in its relations to the administration, Wm. H. 
Crawford, of Georgia, became the leader in the Senate of the dominant party proper, 
and was ably supported by Campbell, of Tennessee. 

In the lower House the Federalists had but thirty-six members, whose great leader 
was Quincy, of Massachusetts, ably supported by Key, of Maryland, Chittenden, of 
Vermont, and Emott, of New York. Connecticut and Rhode Island were still rium- 
bered among the Federal states ; but in the remainder of New England and the State 
of New York the Democrats had a decided majority. There were but ten Federal- 
ists for all the states south of Pennsylvania and Delaware, ^he more radical mem- 
bers of the last Congress had been re-elected ; and in Cheves, Calhoun and Lowndes, 
of South Carolina, Clay, of Kentucky, and Grundy, of Tennessee — all young men and 
full of vigor — appeared not only Democratic members of ability, but enthusiastic 
champions of war with Great Britain.^ With these came the veteran Sevier, the hero 

" The contest for power between the Federalists and Democrats of Massachusetts had been long and bitter. In 1811 
the latter succeeded in electing their candidate for governor (Blbridae Gerry), and a majority of both houses of the Leg- 
islature. In order to secure the election of United States senator in the future, it was important to pei-petuate this 
possession of power, and measures were taken to retain a Democratic majority in the State Senate in all future years. 
The senatorial districts had been formed without any division of counties. This arrangement, for the purpose alluded 
to, was now disturbed. The Legislature proceeded to rearrange the senatorial districts of the state. They divided 
counties in opposition to the protests and strong constitutional arguments of the Federalists ; and those of Essex and 
Worcester were so divided as to form a Democratic district in each of those Federal counties, without any apparent re- 
gard to convenience or propriety. The work was sanctioned, and became law by the signature of Governor Grerry. He 
probably bad no other band in the matter, yet he received most severe castigations from the opposition. 

In Essex County, the arrangement of the district in its relation to the towns was singular and absurd. Bussell, the 
veteran editor of the Boston Centind, who had fought against the scheme valiantly, took a map of that county and des- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



211 



Henry Clay choBen Speaker. 



The President's feeble War-trumpet. 



History of the Qerry-mander. 



of King's Mountaia, and first Governor of Tennessee — " stiff and grim as an Indian 
arrow ; not speaking, but looking daggers. "^ /The young and ardent members, with 




^/}ay 



tious sachem, with 
irrepressible young 
warriors eager for a 
fray. 

The President, in 

his annual a November 

message, " ^' ^^^•'■ 
sounded a war-trum- 
pet, though rather 
feebly. After allud- 
ing to the condition 
of the national de- 
fenses, he said, "I 
must now add, that 
the period has arrived 
which claims from the 
legislative guardians 
of the national rights 
a system of more am- 
ple provision for maintaining them. 
Notwithstanding the scrupulous 
-—J justice, the protracted modera;tion, 
'' and the multiplied efforts on the 



the imperious Clay 
at their head, imme- 
diately took the lead J| 
and the warlike tem- 
per of the House was 
manifested by the 
election of Mr. Clay 
to the speakershp by 
the decided vote of 
seventy-five, against 
thirty-eight given for 
William Bibb, the 
peace candidate, and 
a dozen scattering 
votes. ^ A determin- 
ation that inactivity 
and indecision should 
no longer be the pol- 
icy of the administra-' 
tion was soon manifested, and the 
timid President Madison found 
himself, as the standard-bearer of 
his party, surrounded, like a cau- 
part of the United States, to substitute for the accumulating dangers to the peace of 

ignated by particular coloring the towns thus se- 
lectel! and hnng it on the wall of his editorial 
room. One day Gilbert Stnart, the eminent paint- 
er, looked at the map, and said the towns which 
Eussell had thus distinguished resembled some 
monstrous animal. He took a pencil, and with a 
few touches added what might represent a head, 
wings, claws, and tail. "There," Stuart said, 
" that will do for a salamander." Eussell, who 
was busy with his pen, looked up at the hideous 
figure, and exclaimed, "Salamander I call it Oeirry- 
•mand^r I The word was immediately adopted into 
the political vocabulary as a term of reproach to 
the Democratic Legislature. — See Specimms 0/ 
2fewspapsr JAteratwre, loith Personcd Memoirs, An- 
ecdotes, and Reminiscences, by Joseph T. Bucking- 
ham, ii., 91. 

Stuart's monstrous figure of the Gerrymander 
was presented upon a broadside containing a natu- 
ral and political history of the animal, and hawked 
about the country. From one of these before me, 
kindly placed in my possession by the late Edward 
Everett, I copied the picture given in this note, 
which is about one half the size of the original. 

After giving some ludicrous guesses as to its 
character and origin— whether it was the genuine 
Basilisk, the Serpms Mmocephalus of Pliny, the 
Grifm of romance, the Great Red, Dragon or Apol- 
lyon of Buuyan, or the Monatrum Horrenivm of 
Virgil— the writer of the natural history of the 
Gerry-mander says that the learned Dr. Water- 
ed proved it to be a species of salamander, engendered partly by the devil in the fervid heats of party strife. "But," 
^says°^asttiscreatare has been engendeed and brought forth under the subhmest auspices, the doctor proposes 
fha a name sho^fbe given to it expressive of its genus, at the same time conveying an elegant and very appropnate 
.nmrfimZ^o Z excellencv the governor, who is known to be the zealous patron of whatever is new, astonishmg, and 
Tl"^^W^^Sti^-l^'^--^^-^-- ^- "'-^ -,-°-' ^^^ ""^^ ^^'"^'^'^ considerations the doc- 
tor has decreed this monster shall be denominated a Gebey-mahdeb. „.,,.„„. „ ^^ „-a- . . f , 

= Mr CTay was elected on the first ballot. The vote stood-for Clay, W ; for Bibb, 38 , for Bassett, of Virgmia 1 , for 
Nelson, of ViTginia, 2, and for Macon, of North Carolina. 3. Mr. Clay was declared duly elected speaker. A corre- 




THE GEERY-MANDBE. 



212 PICTOEIAL PIELD-BOOK 



Report of the Committee on Foreign Relations. Its Charges against Great Britain and warlike Tone. 

the two countries all the mutual advantages of re-established friendship and confi- 
dence, we have seen that the British Cabinet perseveres not only in withholding a 
remedy for other wrongs, so long and so loudly calling for it, but in the execution, 
brought home to the threshold of our territory, of measures which, under existing 
circumstances, have the character as well as the effects of war on our lawful com- 
merce. With this evidence of hostile inflexibility in trampling on rights which no 
independent nation can relinquish, Congress will feel the duty of putting the United 
States into an armor and an attitude demanded by the crfsis, and corresponding with 
the national spirit and expectations." Yet Mr. Madison, like Mr. Jefferson, was anx- 
ious to avoid war, if possible. 

A war-note in a higher key was speedily sounded by the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, of which Peter P. Porter, of New York, was chairman. They made a short 
but energetic report on the 29th of November. =■ They referred in severe terms 
to the wrongs which for more than five years the commerce of the United 
States had suffered from the operations of the conflict for power between England 
and France — wrongs inaugurated by British orders in Council, and imitated, in re- 
taliation, by French decrees. They charged Great Britain with the crime of persist- 
ing in the infliction of these wrongs after France, by abandoning her decrees, so far 
as the United States were concerned, had led the way toward justice to neutrals. 
They then arraigned Great Britain upon a more serious charge — that of continued 
impressment ■ of American seamen into the British service. While they pleaded for 
the protection of commerce, they were not, they said, " of that sect whose worship 

is at the shrine of a calculating avarice Although ihe groans of those victims 

of barbarity for the loss of (what should be dearer to Americans than life) their lib- 
erty — although the cries of their wives and children, in the privation of protectors 
and parents, have of late been drowned in the louder clamors of the loss of prop- 
erty, yet is the practice of forcing our mariners into the British navy, in violation of 
the rights of our flag, carried oiji with unabated rigor and severity. If it be our duty 
to encourage the fair and legitimate commerce of this country by protecting the 
property of the merchant, then, indeed, by as much as life and liberty are more esti- 
mable than ships and goods, so much more impressive is the duty to shield the per- 
sons of our seamen, whose hard and honest services are employed, equally with those 
of the merchants, in advancing, under the mantle of its laws, the interests of their 
country. To sum up, in a word, the great cause of complaint against Great Britain, 
your committee need only say, that the United States, as a sovereign and independ- 
ent power, claim, the right to use the ocean, which is the common and acknowledged 
highway of nations, for the purposes of transporting, in their own vessels, the prod- 
ucts of their oVn soils and the acquisitions of their own industry to a market in the 
ports of friendly nations, and to bring home, in return, such articles as their necessi- 
ties or convenience may require, always regarding the rights of belligerents as de- 
fined by the established laws of nations. Great Britain, in defiance of this incontesta- 
ble right, captures every American vessel bound to or returning from a port where 
her commerce is not favored; enslaves our seamen, and, in spite of our remonstrances, 
perseveres in these aggressions. To wrongs so daring in character and so disgraceful 
in then* execution, it is impossible that the people of the United States should remain 
indifferent. We must now tamely and quietly submit, or we must resist by those 
means which God has placed within our reach. 

spondent of the New York Evening Post wrote : " He made a short address to the House on taking his seat, which, from 
the lowness of his voice at that time, could not he distinctly heard." In the same letter the writer said, "It is believed 
Clay was not thought of for Speaker till Sunday ; he certainly was not publicly mentioned. The Democrats had a cau- 
cus Sunday evening, and fixed oa Clay. This was done to prevent the election of Macon, who has too much honesty 
-ind independence for the leading administration men." 

Mr. Clay was then thirty-four years of age, and this was his first appearance as a member in the House of Represent- 
atives. He was in the Senate previously, as we have observed. The portrait given on the previous page is from a 
painting from life by the late Mr. Eanney, when Mr. Clay was nearly sixty years of age. ), 



€ 



OF THE WAB OF 1812. 213 



Hesolutions of the Committee on Foreign Relations. The first railway Traveler and telegraphic Dispatch. 

" Your committee would not cast a shade over the American name hj the expres- 
sion of a doubt which branch of this alternative will be embraced. The occasion is 
now presented when the national character, misunderstood and traduced for a time 
by foreign and domestic enemies, should be vindicated. If we have not rushed to 
the field of battle like the nations who are led by the mad ambition of a single chief 
in the avarice of a corrupted court, it has not proceeded from the fear of war, but 
from our love of justice and humanity. That proud spirit of liberty and independ- 
ence which sustained our fathers in the successful assertion of rights against foreign 
aggression is not yet sunk. The patriotic fire of the Revolution still lives in the 
American breast with a holy and unextinguishable flame, and will conduct this na- 
tion to those high destinies which are not less the reward of dignified moderation 
than of exalted valor. But we have borne with, injury until forbearance has ceased 
to be a virtue. The sovereignty and independence of these states, purchased and 
sanctified by the blood of our fathers, from whom we received them, not for ourselves 
only, but as the inheritance of our posterity, are deliberately and systematically vio- 
lated. And the period has arrived when, in the opinion of your committee, it is the 
sacred duty of Congress to call forth the patriotism and resources of the country. 
By the aid of these, and with the blessing of God, we confidently trust we shall be 
able to procure that redress which has been sought for by justice, by remonstrance, 
and forbearance in vain." 

The committee, " reserving for a future report those ulterior measures which, in 
their opinion, ought to be pursued," earnestly recommended Congress to second 
the proposition of the President by immediately putting the United States "into an 
araior and attitude demanded by the crisis, and corresponding with the national 
spirit and expectations." In a series of resolutions they recommended the imme- 
diate completion of the military establishment as authorized by law, by filling up 
the ranks and prolonging the enlistments ; the authorization of an additional force 
of ten thousand regular troops to serve for three years, and the acceptance by the 
President, under proper regulations, of any number of volunteers not exceeding fifty 
thousand, to be organized, trained, and held in readiness ; giving the President au- 
thority to order out detachments of militia when the interests of the country should 
require ; the immediate repairing of all national vessels and fitting them for service, 
and the allowing merchant ships to arm in their own defense. ^ 

This report, spread upon the wings of the press, went over the country swiftly— 
not so swiftly as now, for railways and telegraphs were unknown^— and produced a 

1 Nilea's Weekly Register, i., 253. _ , ^ -r. . 

2 The first trip made by a locomotive on this continent was thns deacrfbed a few years ago m a speech at an ine 
Railway festival, by Horatio Allen, the eminent engineer: , ,, . ,,. 

"When was it? Who was it? And who awakened its energies and directed its movements? It was in the year 
1828 on the banks of the Lackawaxen, at the commencement of the railroads connecting the canal of the Delaware and 
Hudson Canal Company with their coal mines, and he who addresses you was the only person on that locomotive. 
The circumstances which led to my being alone on the engine were these : The road had been built in the summer ; 
the structure was of hemlock timber, and rails of large dimensions notched on caps placed far apart. The timber had 
cracked and warped from exposure to the sun. After about three hundred feet of straight line, the road crossed the 
Lackawaxen Creek on trestle-work about thirty feet high, with a curve of three hundred and fifty-five to four hundred 
feet radius The impression was very general that the iron monster would either break down the road, or it would 
leave the track at the curve and plunge into the creek. My reply to such apprehensions was that it was too late to con- 
sider the orobabilitv of such occurrences ; there was no other course than to have a tnal made of the strange animal, 
which had been brought here at a great expense, but that it was not necessary that more than one should be involved 
to its fate ■ that I would take the first ride alone, and the time would come when I should look back to the mcident 
with areat interest. As I placed my hand on the throttle-valve handle, I was undecided whether I woMd move slowly 
r wia a fair degree of speed ; but, believing that the road would prove safe, and preferrmg if we did go down, to go 
hanTsomely, and without any evidence of timidity, I started with considerable velocity, passed the curve over the creek 
safely Td was soon out of hearing of the vast assemblage. At the end of two or three miles I reversed the valve and 
re nrned wiftout accident, having thus made the first railroad trip by locomotive on the Western hemisphere • 

The flrrregular telegraphic dispatch, for the public eye and ear was sent from Washington City to Baltimore by 
PrnfiTRflnr Samuel P B Morse, the inventor of the electro-telegraphic system of intellectual communication, in May, 
1^ The dispatch,'fnrnished to Professor Morse, accordmg to promise, by Miss Anna Ellsworth, daughter of the then 
C^misstoner of Patents, who had taken great interest in Mr. Morse's expenments, was worthy of the occasion : it was 
the egression of Balaam-" What hath god weotight!" That first dispatch, in the telegraphic language, may be 
found In the archives of the Connecticut Historical Society. 



214 ' PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Supposed Republican Proclivities of British Colonists. John Randolph on the Danger of enlightening the Slaves. 

j)owerful impression upon the American mind and heart. No one could deny the 
truthfulness of its statements, and few well-informed persons doubted the wisdom 
and justice of its conclusions. While great indignation was felt toward France for 
her past and present aggressions upon the rights of neutrals, much stronger was the 
feeling against Great Britain, because it had been her settled policy and her practice 
for more than half a century, and had been used with cruel rigor long before France, 
in retaliation, adopted the same instrument for warfare. This indignation was more 
vehement because England, with haughty persistence, and in violation of the sover- 
eignty and independence of the United States, continued her nefarious practice of 
impressing American seamen into the British naval service. Upon such burning 
feelings throughout the land, just then stimulated to great intensity by the intelli- 
gence from the Indian country, fell the fuel of this trumpet-toned report. It was 
short, perspicuous, aiid pungent. It was read by every body; and every measure 
proposed in Congress, looking to hostilities with Great Britain, was applauded by a 
large majority of the people. 

In Congress warm debates followed on the resolutions appended to the report. It 
was admitted that the United States could not meet Great Britain on the ocean fleet 
to fleet,' but it was believed that when an army from the States should appear on the 
soil of Canada, or of the' other British provinces in the farther East, the people, then 
tired of being ruled as colonies, would gladly join fortunes with the young Giant 
of the West. It was believed that their bosoms swelled with desires since embodied 
in these words of an English poet : 

" There's a star in the West that shall never go down 
'Till the records of valor decay ; 
We must worship its light, though 'tis not onr own, 
For liberty bursts in its ray." 

It was also believed that American privateers would speedily ruin British com- 
merce and fisheries, and that, by sea and land expeditions, the people of the United 
States would be remunerated tenfold for all the spoliations inflicted on their com- 
merce, and thus compel the British government to act justly and respectfully. ^ 

Most of the Southern and Western members were in favor of war. But John Ean- 
dolph, always happy in his element of universal opposition, battled against the men 
of his own section in his -peculiar way, sometimes with ability, always discursorily, 
and frequently with the keenest satire. He endeavored to excite the fears of the mem- 
bers of the slave-labor states by warning them that an invasion of Canada might be 
retorted upon Southern soil with fearful eflTect. He declared that the slaves had al- 
ready become polluted by that French democracy which animated the administration 
party, who were so eager to go to war with the enemy of JSTapoleon, whom he ranked, 
as a scourge of mankind, with Tamerlane and Genghis Khan— " malefactors of the 
human race, who grind down men into mere material of their impious and bloody 
ambition." He said the negroes were rapidly gaining notions of freedom, destructive 
alike to their own happiness and the safety and interests of their masters. He de- 
nounced as a "butcher" a member of Congress who had proposed the abolition of 
slavery m the District of Columbia. He said men had broached on that very floor 
the doctrine of imprescriptible rights to a crowded audience of blacks in the galleries 
teachmg them that they were equal to their masters. "Similar doctrines," he said' ' 
'are spread throughout the South by Yankee peddlers; and there are even owners 
of slaves so infatuated as, by the general tenor of their conversation, by contempt of 
order, morality, religion, unthinkingly to cherish these seeds of destruction And 
what has been the consequence ? Within the last ten years repeated alarms of slave- 
msurrections, some of them awful indeed. By the spreading of this infernal doctrine 
the whole South has been thrown into a state of in security You have de- 

' Porter's Speech. ' ' 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



215 



Bandolpli scolds the Democrats. 



John C. Calhonn. 



Sketches of Randolph and Calhoun. 




prived the slave of all moral restraint," 
he continued, addressing the Democrat- 
ic members; "you have tempted Kim 
to eat of the tree of knowledge just 
enough to perfect him in wickedness ; 
you have opened his eyes to his naked"- 
ness God forbid that the South- 
ern States should ever see an enemy 
on these sliores with their infernal prin- 
ciples of French fraternity ifi the van ! 
While talking of Canada, we have too 
much reason to shudder for our own 
safety at home. I speak from facts 
when I say that the night-bell never 
tolls for fire in Richmond that the light- 
ened mother does not hug her infant the 
more closely to her bosom, not know- 
ing what may have happened. I have 
myself witnessed some of these alarms 
in the capital jof Virginia." 

Randolph' then gave the Democrats 
some severe words concerning the ad- 
verse policy advocated by their party 
in 1198, when the Federal administra- 
tion was preparing for a war . with 

France. He taunted them with being preachers of reform and economy heretofore, 
but now, in their blind zeal to serve their French master, were willing to create a 
heavy national debt by rushing into an unnecessary and wicked war with a fraternal 
people — fraternal in blood, language, religion, laws, arts, and literature.^ 

Randolph's speech had but little effect upon his auditors other than to irritate the 
more sensitive and amuse the more philosophic. A few members, at the risk of poi- 
soned arrows from his tongue, ventured to give him some home thrusts, while Cal- 
houn, then less than thirty years of age, made this the occasion of his first oratorical 
effort in that great theatre of legislative strife wherein he so long and so valiantly 
contested.^ With that dexterous use of subtle logic which never failed to give him 

i John Randolph claimed to te seventh in descent from Pocahontas, the famous Indian princess. He was bom 
three miles from Petersburg, in Virginia, on the 2d of Jime, 17T3. He was educated at Princeton College, New Jersey, 
Colnmbia College, New York, and William and Maiy College, in Virginia. Prom infancy he suffered from ill health. ' He 
studied law, but never practiced it. His first appearance in public life was in 1799, when he was elected to a seat in the 
National Congress, and for thirty years, with an interval of two years each, he held a seat in that body. He became in- 
sane for a time in 1811, and had returns of his malady at intervals during the remainder of his life. He strenuously op- 
posed the war with Great Britain in 1812, and after that event his political career was very erratic. He was the warm 
friend of General Jackson in 1828, and in 1830 tbat gentleman appointed him United States Minister to Eussia. He 
could not endure the vrinter on the Neva, and his stay in Russia was short. He resided in England for a while, and after 
his retm-n his constituents elected him to Congress. But he did not take his seat. Consumption laid its hand upon 
him, and he died in a hotel in Philadelphia, on the 23d of May, 1833, while on his way to New York to embark for Eu- 
rope. 

2 Speech in the House of Representatives, December 10, 1811.— Niles's Register, i., 315. 

3 John Caldwell Calhoun was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, on the 18th of March, 1782. His mother 
was a native of Virginia. He entered Yale College as a student in 1802, where he was marked as a young man of genius 
and great promise. He was graduated in 1804 vrith the highest honors of the institution. He studied law in Litchfield, 
Connecticut, and entered upon its practice in his native district. He was elected to a seat in the Legislature of South 
Carolina in 1808, and in 1811 he took his "seat as member of the National Congress as a stanch Republican or Democrat. 
He ably supported Mr. Madison's administration, and in 1817 President Monroe called him to his Cabinet as Secretary 
of War. He was elected Vice-President of the tJnited States in 1825, and was re-elected with Jackson in 1828. He suc- 
ceeded Hayne in the Senate of the United States in 1831, and became the leader in the disloyal movement of his native 
state known in history under the general title of Nullification, in 1832-'33. President Tyler called him to his Cabinet 
as Secretary of State in 1843, and he again entered the Senate as the representative of his state in 1846. He held that 
position until his death, which occurred at Washington City on the 31st of March, 1850, when he was just past sixty-eight 
years of age. Our portrait of Mr. Calhoun, on the next page, ia from one taken from life about the year 1830, when he 
was forty-eight years of age. 



216 



PICTORIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Calhoun's Reply to EandoIpli'B Speech. 



The Policy of the Federaliste. 



Preparations for War. 



ingenious arguments in favor of any views he might desire to enforce, he replied to 

to controvert. The 



Randolph at some 
length, insisting 
that it was a prin- 
ciple as applicable 
to nations as to in- 
dividuals to repel 
a first insult, and 
thus command the 
respect, if not the 
fear of the assailant. 
"Sir," he said, "I 
might prove the 
war, should it en- 
sue, justifiable by 
the express admis- 
sion of the gentle- 
man from Virginia ; 
and necessary, by 
facts undoubted 
and universally ad- 
mitted, such as 




extent, duration, 
and character of the 
injuries received ; 
the failure of "those 
peaceful means here- 
tofore resorted to for 
the redress of our 
wrongs, is my proof 
that it is necessary. 
Why should I men- 
tion the impress- 
ment of our seamen ; 
depredation on ev- 
ery branch of our 
commerce, includ- 
ing the direct ex- 
port trade, contin- 
ued for years, and 
made under laws 
which professedly 



, such as ^ ^ /p ^jnf^^ which protessedly 

that gentleman (^^^^..J^ "X/P CC^'^^^^^^-O-^^-^^im^ undertake to reg- 
did not pretend ^^"^^ '-^ ' ulate our trade 

with other nations ;' negotiation resorted to time after time till it became hopeless ; the 
restrictive systems persisted in to avoid war and in the vain expectation of returning 
justice ? The evil still grows, and in each succeeding year swells in extent and pre- 
tension beyond the preceding. The question, even in the opinion and admission of our 
opponents, is reduced to this single point, Which shall we do, abandon or defend our 
own commercial and maritime rights, and the personal liberties of our citizens in ex- 
ercising them ? These rights are essentially attacked, and war is the only means of 
redress. The gentleman froni Virginia has suggested none, unless we consider the 
whole of his speech as recommending patient and resigned submission as the best 
remedy. Sir, which alternative this House ought to sustain is not for me to say. I 
hope the decision is made already by a higher authority than the voice of any man. 
It is not for the human tongue to instill the sense of independence and honor. This 
is the work of nature — a generous nature that disdains tame submission to wrongs. 
This part of the subject is so imposing as to enforce silence even on the gentleman 
from Virginia. He dared not deny his country's wrongs, or vindicate the conduct 
of her enemy." 

In this dignified strain Mr. Calhoun charmed his listeners, steadying the vacillat- 
ing, convincing the doubting, and commanding the respectful attention of the oppo- 
nents of the resolutions. He treated Randolph's bugbear of slave insurrection with 
lofty contempt. " However the gentleman may frighten himself," he said, " with the 
disorganizing efiects of French principles, I can not think our ignorant blacks have 
felt much of their baleful influence. I dare say more than one half of them never 
heard of the French Revolution."^ 

The Federalists said very little on this occasion. It had always been their policy 

to be prepared for war. The resolutions appended to the report of the Committee 

« December 16, on Foreign Relations were adopted," and bills were speedily prepared 

^^^'^- and passed for augmenting the army. Additional regulars to the num- 

> See page 165. 

2 AyriAgmeiA of the Debates of Congress from 1789 to 1856, by Thomas H. Benton, iv., 449. 



OP THE WAR OF 1812. 217 



Augmentation of the Anny. Patriotism of leading Federalists. Heasons of Quincy and Emott for their Course. 

ber of twenty-five thousand were authorized by a vote of the House early in Janu- 
ary." The bill also provided for the appointment of two major generals .January 4, 
and five additional brigadiers ; also for a bounty to new recruits of sixteen i^^^- 
dollars, and, at the time of discharge, three months' extra pay and a certificate for 
one hundred and sixty acres of land.i On the 14th of the month another act was 
passed, appropriating a million of dollars for the purchase of arms, ordnance, camp 
equipage, and quarter-master's stores ; and four hundred thousand dollars for powder, 
ordnance, and small-arms for the navy. Thus, in a brief space of time, the little army 
of the peace establishment, which had been comparatively inactive, was swelled in 
prospective from about three thousand men to more than seventy thousand regulars 
and volunteers. The President was authorized to call upon the govei'nors of states 

1 Seven of the thirty-seven Federalists in the House voted for these measures. These were Quincy and Eeed, of Mm- 
sachuseits; Emott, Bleecker^ Gold, and Livingston, of JTew) York; and Milnor, of Pimnsylvania. The latter was the late 
James Milnor, D.D., Eector of St. George's Church, New York. It was during this session of Congress that he became 
deeply impressed with religious sentiments, and felt himself called to the Gospel ministry. He abandoned the lucrative 
profession of the law and the turbulent field- of politics, and took orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which, 
until his death, in the spring of 1844, he was "a bright and shining light." 

The position taken by these leading Federalists at that critical time, in opposition to the great body of their colleagues 
in Congress and of the party in New England, was patriotic in the 
highest degree, and yet, so donbtfiil were they of the verdict which 
posterity might pass upon their actions, that two of them (QuinCy 
and Emott) prepared quite an elaborate defense, in' which the rea- 
sons for their course were ably set forth. It was drawn up by Em- 
ott, slightly amended by Quincy, and signed by both. It was left 
in Bmott's hands, to be used at any future time by him or his de- 



JtyiiMM RUMMy 




scendants in vindication of their course. Posterity— even contem- //^A^A Jt/f 
poraries— have pronounced their course wise and patriotic. The ^ 1/^ ' *-^^/l 
original manuscript, in the possession of the Hon. James Emott, of 

Ponghkeepsle, New Tork, a son of one of the signers, is before me while I write. It is in the delicate and neat hand- 
writing of the elder Emott,* and dated January 1, 1812. After elearly stating the position of public affairs, they say : "We 
thought it therefore worthy of an experiment to allow the administration to make out their case before the great bar 
of the public without, as heretofore, aiding it by an early opposition ; and we hoped, and yet hope, that by vrithdrawing 
the aliment of party rancor it will cease to exist, and that the people will see the precipice to which they have been 
drawn, and the danger which awaits the country unless there is a speedy and radical change of men or measures. . . . 
By leaving the government in the first instance unmolested, in its measures the people may receive a distinct impres- 
sion of its objects. If they are really of that high and commanding character as to effectuate what their friends prom- 
ised relief to our country, it is of little consequence from whose hands so desirable a blessing is received. But if the 
character of the plans of the administration continues time-serving, self-oppressive, and hypocritical, on it and its sup- 
porters would faU the responsibility, without the possibility of transferring it to those who had neither shared nor op- 
posed their purposes." . 

These gentlemen then allude to the prevalent opinion that if the Federahsts should withhold their opposition, the 
British government, hopeless of a party in its favor in the United States, would relax its restrictive measures. They 
then declare that if the British government or people believe that opposition of the Federalists arises from any unpa- 
triotic motives, "bottomed on a desire for power to be obtained at the expense of the interests of the nation, there has 
been an essential and lamentable mistake. . . „ j, ^ » tv ■ .i,„„ „„* „r„,„, «,. 

In reference to the measures proposed for putting the country in a state of adequate strength in the event of war, for 
which these gentlemen voted fom- days after the date of the paper under action, they remarked: "In i;e-estimating our 
duties upon this occasion, we have not deemed it necessary to take into consideration the causes wh^h have led to our 
present embarrassments. We certainly do not entertain the opinion that the course which has been pursued by the ad- 
mTnistration is either correct or to be Justified ; but we can not but perceive that ™; P^f * ^iflcult es ^^^o* o^PPa- 
rently and exclusively attributable to the American government as to justify a resort t° ^ .P^l'-^yj^'^^^J^'^^'^^^^^^ '^^ 

nation nnnrotected and defenseless It is because we wish for peace with security that we are willing, to add to the 

oreseSt Srrrestablishment: ... Our country and our firesides are dear to us. We think hey are m danger, and 
V^^^^o^^\^^liT .yr^^-n, by measures In which we have had no agency, and for which we do not hold our- 
relvrresponsMe if^o le or in part, we discover that a necessity has been produced for defensive preparations we 
TaSer^t ourseirs to resist such preparations' from motives of general opposition to the administration, or from 
a desire to render it odious to the country." __^ 

. James Emott was born »* Poughkeepsie New To*^^^^^^ Cw Sf gJIwing^^S V'L' -"Sr^Zl^ 
his vocation, and commenced its practice a ^allston Centre, New York, a ^ 

ton ?P-.I"l™^,^«:-';Pf;tfa^yirro?OnrndCco^^^^^^^^ Imiro^eld tieir sittings a^lbany, 

cemmg titles to lands m the military tiact " "^n™"^!" | ^ ^^^^ to represent Albany County in the 

and to tha "ty Mr ^^o't "moved aW the year 180 ^ ^^ZrliW, and after practicihg law there for a while he 
State Legislature. He soon a™"^^/™ '™7°° ^° ™ L^ Duchess District in the National Congress. He took his 
returned to Poughkeeps.e and ^''^^ « «f „^, * V'^ „fectirnnt"l 1^^^^^^^ politics he wa« a Federalist, and was one of 
seat in 1809, and continued m possession of it ^^ '^:«^'=™",™5^^^^^ of party. He was representative of 

the prominent leaders, yet his patrio ism was never '^|«°^^o 'h^^ „ member of that body 

Duchess County m the ^ew Y°rk A^« in^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^,^ ^.^ ^^^ ,„„, j3,3, ^^,„, f„, 

four consecutive years. In 181T °«/^' *PP^™!!° „' jJ^^^^ Maturin Livingston. He was appointed judge of the sec- 
political reasons, he was removed *» '"^1';™°^;°! nnti^^ISSl ^hen he was sixty years of age. Judge Emott then re- 

^SeVrofJsrH^mrarpiu^^^^^^^^^^ 



218 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 

Voices of the State Legislatures. A Pittance for the Navy. TJusnccessfol Efforts for its Increase. 

each to furnish his respective quota of one hundred thousand militia, to be held in 
readiness to instantly obey the call of the chief magistrate. For the expense of this 
reserve one million of dollars were appropriated. 

The State Legislatures, meanwhile, spoke out emphatically for war if necessary. 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio, resolved to stand 
by the general government when decisive measures should be adopted ; and, in their 
reply to the annual message of Governor Gerry, the House of Representatives of 
Massachusetts exhibited the same sentiments, denouncing Great Britain as a " pirat- 
ical state," and her practice of impressment "man-stealing." 

The navy, important as it proved to be in the war that followed, was neglected. 
Cheves, of South Carolina, made a report in favor of its augmentation; and he and 
Lowndes, in supporting speeches, hinted at the expediency of constructing forty frig- 
ates and twenty-five ships of the line. It was urged by these members, in direct op- 
position to the narrow views of "Williams from the same state a year before, that 
"protection to commerce was protection to agriculture." Quincy also argued that 
protection to commerce was essential to the preservation of the Union, and, with a 
covert but significant threat, he: gave as a reason that the commercial states could 
not be expected to submit to the deliberate and systematic sacrifice of their most im- 
portant interests.! Their pleas were in vain. A bill, containing only an appropria- 
tion of four hundred and eighty . thousand dollars for repairing three frigates— Cow- 
stellation, Chesapeake, and Adams— sindL two hundred thousand dollars annually for 
three years, to purchase timber for the purpose of refitting three others, was passed, 
and sent to the Senate, where Lloyd, of Massachusetts, moved to insert an appropria- 
■ Jan^ry IT, tion for thirty new frigates. ^^ " Let us have the frigates," he said ; " pow- 
erful as Great Britain is, she could not blockade them. With our haz- 
ardous shores and tempestuous northwesterly gales from ISTovember to March, all 
the navies in the world could not blockade them. Divide them into six squadrons. 
Place those squadrons in the northern ports ready for sea, and at favorable moments 
we would pounce upon her West India Islands, repeating the game of De Grasse and 
D'Estaing in '79 and '80. By the time she was ready to meet us there, we would 
be round Cape Horn cutting up her whalemen. Pursued thither, we would skim 
away to the Indian Seas, and would give an account of her China and India ships 
very different from that of the French cruisers. N"ow we would follow her Quebec, 
now her Jamaica convoys ; sometimes make our appearance in the chops of the Chan- 
nel, and even sometimes wind north almost into the Baltic. It Avould require a hund- 
red British frigates to watch the movements of these thirty. Such are the means by 
which I would bring Great Britain to her senses. By harassing her commerce with 
this fleet, we could make the people ask the government why they continued to vio- 
late our rights.'' 

Crawford, of Georgia, replied at some length, and the Senate, unmoved by the glow- 
ing pictures of naval achievements drawn by the senator from Massachusetts not 
only refused to sanction Lloyd's amendment, but reduced the appropriation for re- 
pairs to three hundred thousand dollars. 

While the war party, strong in Congress and throughout the country, were ener- 
getic in action and impatient of delay, Mr. Madison showed great timidity It was 
owmg, doubtless, in a great degree, to the character of his Cabinet, which unfortunate- 
ly surrounded him at that momentous crisis. Mr. Monroe, the Secretary of State was 
the only member who had any military taste and experience, and he had seen 'only 
limited service m the Revolution. Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury, was a 
civihan, and was avowedly opposed to the war with Great Britain. Eustis the Sec- 
retary of War, knew very little about military affairs. Hamilton, the Secretary of 
the Navy, had no practical knowledge of nav aU^irsJ^ o qualify him for the station; 

1 Hildreth, Second Series, ili., 277. " 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 219 

Madison threatened with Desertion by the War Party. He recommen as an Embargo. A British Plot discovered. 

and Mr. Madison himself was utterly unable, though by virtue of his office pommand- 
er-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, to grasp with vigor, the con- 
duct of public affairs in a time of war. Consciousness of this made him timid and 
vacillating. 

The administration members of Congress at length resolved to take a bold and 
decided stand with the President. His first .term of office was drawing to a close, 
and it was known that he was anxious for re-election. The leading Democrats in 
the State of New York, whose voices were potential in the matter at that time, dis- 
satisfied with Mr. Madison's weak course, contemplated nominating De Witt Clinton, 
then mayor of the city of New York, for the Presidency of the United States. His 
pretensions were sustained by Gideon Granger, the postmaster general, who doubt- 
ed the propriety of a war with Madison as leader. Other influential Democrats in 
different parts of the country held similar views. 

In this state of things, Mr. Madison was waited upon'' by several of the • March 2, 
leading Democratic members of Congress, and informed, in substance, that ^*^^" 
war with England was now resolved upon by the dominant party, the supporters of 
his administration; that the people would no longer consent to a dilatory and in- 
efficient course on the part of the national government; that, unless a declaration of 
war took place previous to the Presidential election, the success of the Democratic; 
party might be endangered, and the government thrown into the hands of the Fed- 
eralists ; that, unless Mr. Madison consented to act with his friends, and accede to a 
declaration of war with Great Britain, neither his nomination nor his re-election to 
the Presidency could be lelied on. Thus situated, Mr. Madison concluded to waive 
his own objections to the course determined on by his political friends, and to do all 
he could for the prosecution of a war for which he had neither taste nor practical- 
ability.^ 

Mr. Madison's first step in the prescribed direction after this interview was in the 
form of a confidential message to Congress on the 1st of April, recommending, as 
preliminary 1;p a declaration of war, the immediate passage of a law laying a general 
embargo on all vessels then in the ports of the United States, or that might there- 
after enter, for the period of sixty days. Meanwhile another subject had produced 
very great excitement throughout the country. An Irishman, named John Henry, 
who had become a naturalized citizen of the United States, and had lived several 
years in Canada, appeared at the Presidential mansioi; one dark and stormy even- 
ing early in February,'' 1812. He bore a letter of introduction to Mr. ^ 
Madison from Governor Gerry, of Massachusetts, who seemed to be im- 
pressed with the truthfulness of Henry, and the great importance of the information 
which he proposed to lay before the President.^ An interview was arranged for the 
following evening, when Henry divulged to the President what appeared to be most 
astounding secrets concerning efforts that had been in progress for two years on the 
part of the British authorities in Canada, sanctioned by the home government, to 
effect a separation of the Eastern States from the Union, and to attach them to Great 
Britain. He told Mr. Madison that, up to the year 1809, he had been living for five 



■ statement of James Fisk, a Democratic member of Congress from Vermont, who was one of the committee, cited in 
the Statemian's Manual, i., 444. The feeling against Mr. Madison on account of his timid policy had begun to manifest 
itself very strongly among his political friends in Congress before the close of 1811. The New York Evening Post, of 
January 6, 1812, says : "The Houses of Congress refused to adjourn on the 1st of January in order to wait on the chief 
magistrate. It was an intended insult." 

Henry Dearborn, an officer of the Eevolntion, then in Washington, and who had lately been appointed a major gen- 
eral in the national army, wrote to his daughter, saying : " You may tell j-our neighbors they may prepare for war ; we 
shall have it by the time they are ready. I know that war will be very unwelcome news to you, but I also know that 
yon possess too much Spartan patriotism to wish your father to decline a command for the defense of the honor of our 
beloved country. You would, if necessary, urge him to the field rather than a speck of dishonor should attach to him 
for declining such a command." 

2 Heni-y had spent a week in Baltimore. He left that city for Washington on the mommg of the Ist of February.— 
Letter in Niles's iJesMter, ii., 46. 



220 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 




The Mission of John Henry in New England. An Attempt to de stroy the Eepnblic by Disunion. 

years on his farm in Vermont, near the Canada line, and amused himself in writing 
essays for the newspapers against republican governments, which he detested. Those 

essays, he said, had arrested the atten- 
tion of Sir James Craig, then Governor 
General of Canada, who invited him to 
Montreal at the close of 1 808. At that 
time the violent demonstrations of the 
Federalists in New England against 
the embargo induced the English to 
believe that there was deep-seated dis- 
affection to the government of the United States on the part of the people of that 
section. Under that impression Henry was commissioned by Sir James Craig to 
proceed to Boston, and ascertain the true state of affairs there, and the temper of the 
people in that part of the Union. His instructions directed him especially to ascer- 
tain whether the Federalists of Massachusetts would, in the event of their success at 
the approaching election, be disposed to separate from the Union, or enter into any 
connection with England. " The earliest information on this subject," said Sir James, 
" may be of great consequence to our government ; as it may also be, that it should 
be informed how far, in such an event, they would look to England for assistance, or 
be disposed to enter into a connection with us."' Henry was authorized to intimate 
to the Federalist leaders, if the supposed state of things should be found to exist, that 
they might communicate to the British government through him.^ 

According to Henry's statement, he passed through Vermont after receiving 
these instructions, and arrived at Boston on the 5th of March. There he remained 
about three months,' spending his time in coffee-houses and disreputable places, until 
» May 4, Erskine's arrangement and a recall by Ryland," Craig's Secretaiy, put an 
^^^- end to his mission. During that time Henry had addressed fourteen letters 
to Sir James over the initials "A. B.," most of them written at Boston. The earlier 
ones were filled with the most encouraging accounts of the extreme disaffection of 
the Eastern people, especially those of Massachusetts, on account of the commercial 
restrictions. He expressed his belief that, in the event of a declaration of war against 
Great Britain by the United States, the Legislature of Massachusetts would take the 
lead in, establishing a separate Northern Confederacy, which might, in some way, end 
in a political connection with .Great Britain. The grand idea of destroying the Union 
was the theme of all the letters, expressed or implied. "If a war between America 
and France," he wrote, " be a gi-and desideratum, somethuig more must be done ; an 
indulgent, conciliating policy must be adopted. ... To bring about a separation of 
the states under distinct and independent governments is an affair of more uncer- 
tainty, and, however desirable, can not be effected but by a series of acts and long- 
continued policy tending to irritate the Southern and conciliate the Northern peo- 
ple. . . . This, I am aware, is an object of much interest in Great Britain, as it 
would forever insure the integrity of his majesty's possessions on this continent, and 
make the two goverments, or whatever member the present confederacy might join 
with, as useful and as much subject to the influence of Great Britain as her colonies 
can be rendered."^ 



1 Sir James Craig's Instrnctions to John Henry, dated at Quebec, 6th Febraary, 1809. 

= Henry was furnished with the following credentials, to be used if circumstances should require : 

"The bearer, Mr. John Henry, Is employed by me, and full confidence may be placed in him for any communication 
which any person may wish to make to me on the business committed to him. In faith of which I have given him this 
under my hand and seal, at Quebec, the Cth day of Eebrnary, 1809. j h Ckaig " 

Henry was also furnished with a cipher to be used in his correspondence. 

3 Henry to Sir James Craig, 13th of March, 1809. Mr. Erskine's arrangement greatly disappointed the British author- 
ities in Canada, who doubtless expected to reap great rewards from the home government by a snccessfhl effort to dis- 
rupt the American Union. For twenty years they had been inciting the Indians on the Northwestern frontiers to war 
upon the Americans, and now they hoped, by a successful movement among those whom they supposed to be as mer- 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



221 

Henry-B Corresppndence in MadUon'B FoBseesion. The P.'esidenf 8 Message on the Subject. 

Henry soon perceived that his estimate of New England disloyalty was simply ab- 
surd, and he came to the conclusion that the idea of a withdrawal from the Union 
was unpopular; that, as matters stood, the Federalists would confine themselves to 
the ordinary resistance of political opposition. " Weak men," he wrote, " are sure to 
temporize when great events call upon them for decision." 

Henry's performances seem to have pleased Sir James Craig, who promised him 
employment in Canada worth at least a thousand pounds ($5000) per annum. Henry 
waited long for the fulfillment of that J)romise, and finally Sir James died. Li June, 
1811, the British spy was in London humbly petitioning the government for remu- 
neration for his services in Boston. There he was at first treated with great con- 
sideration by the government. « I was received in the highest circles," he said to 
his friend, the Count Edward de Crillon. " I was complimented with a ticket as 
niember of the Pitt Club without bemg balloted for."i But when he had spent all 
his money, and presented his claims for retribution, the government attempted to 
cheapen his services. He claimed thirty thousand pounds, but speedily lowered his 
demands. He would be content, he said, with the office of Judge Advocate of Lower 
Canada, with a salary of five hundred pounds a year, or a consulate in the United 
States. Kobert Peel, the Earl of Liverpool's under secretary, in behalf of that offi- 
cial, politely referred Henry to Sir James Craig's successor in Canada, Sir George 
Prevost. The spy was exasperated, and sailed for Boston instead of for Quebec, full 
of wrath, and a determination to be revenged by divulging the whole secret of his 
mission to the United States government, and, if possible, receive from it the remu- 
neration which he had vainly sought in England. He was successful. Mr. Madison 
was satisfied of the great value of Henry's disclosures at that crisis, when war against 
England was about to be declared. They gave overwhelming proof of the secret de- 
signs of the British government to destroy the new republic in the West. Out of 
the secret service fund in his possession he gave Henry fifty thousand dollars for the 
entire correspondence of the parties to the afiair ia this country and in England. 

After receiving the money^ Henry went to Philadelphia, where he wrote a letter 
to the President* as a preface to his disclosures. On the 9th of March .pebniary20, 
the United States sloop-of-war Wasp, Captain Jones, sailed from Sandy ^^i^- 

Hook with dispatches for Mr. Barlow, the American minister at Paris, bearing away 
Henry to sunny France, where he would be safe from British vengeance. On the 
same day the President laid the Henry documents' before Congress, with a message, 
in which he said, " They prove that at a recent period, while the United States, not- 
withstanding the wrongs sustained by them, ceased not to observe the laws of neu- 
trality toward Great Britain, and in the midst of amicable professions and negotia- 
tions on the part of the British government through its public minister here [Mr. Er^ 
skine], a secret agent of that government was employed in certain states — more espe- 
cially at the seat of government in Massachusetts — in fomenting disafiection to the 
constituted authorities of the nation, and in intrigues "with the disaffected for the 
purpose of bringing about resistance to the laws, and eventually, in concert with 

cenary as themselves, to reduce the United States to virtual vassalage. Eyland, Governor Craig's secretary, in a letter 
to Henry on the Ist of May (four days before his ofadal letter summoning him to Montreal), exhibited that disappoint- 
ment. He concluded his letter in these petulant words : " I am cruelly out of spirits at the idea of Old England truck- 
ling to such a debased and accursed government as that of the United States." 

■ De Crillon's deposition before the Committee on Foreign Eelations, submitted to Congress March 13, 1811. 

> This was paid out of the Treasury of the United States in two sums, on the draft of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the 
Treasury, to the order of James Graham, the United States Treasurer, one for forty-nine thousand dollars, and the other 
for one thousand dollars, dated 10th of February, 1812. Henry was probably swindled out of his money. He had land- 
ed at Boston with a Frenchman calling himself the Count de Crillon, and a great intimacy grew up between them. They 
went to Washington together. When Henry returned to Baltimore he had a deed from the " count" for an estate in 
Languedoc, the consideration being four hundred thousand ftancs. It is probable the count received the forty-nine 
thousand dollars, and Mr. Henry the one thousand dollars, the latter being sufficient to enable him to reach his valuable 
French estate. The " count," who became a witness in the government investigation of Henry's disclosures, proved to 
be an arrant knave and impostor. 

2 These may be found in Benton's Airidgmmt of the Debates in Congrese, iv., 506 to 614 inclusive. 



222 PICTOEIAL FIELD-BOOK 



Henry's Disclosures make Political Cap ital. The British Ministry sappress Ihe Correspopdence. Embargo proposed. 

a British force, of destroying the Union, and forming the eastern part thereof into a 
political connection with Great Britain." 

The indignation against Great Britain was intensified by these disclosures, and the 
inhabitants of New England felt deeply annoyed by this implied disparagement of 
the patriotism of their section. Both political parties endeavored to make capital 
out of the affair. The Democrats vehemently reiterated the charge that the Feder- 
alists were a " British party," and " disunionists ;"i while the opposition alleged that 
the affair was a political trick of the administration to damage their party, insure the 
re-election of Madison, and to offer an excuse for war. The feeling excited in New 
England against the administration was intense, and the indignation of the people 
was almost equally divided between the President and the British sovereign. It 
was charged that the whole matter was a fraud ; that Monroe wrote the letter pur- 
porting to have been sent by Henry from Philadelphia to the government, and that 
the paper on which Lord Liverpool's communication to Henry, through Robert Peel, 
was written, bore the mark of a Philadelphia paper manufacturer. 

These charges were all untrue. Every thing about the matter was genuine. The 
British ramister at Washington (Mr. Foster), two days after the President's message 
■ March n, '^^^ published, declared in the public prints* his entire ignorance of any 

1812- ' transaction of the kind, and asked the "United States government to consid- 
er the character of the individuaP who had niade these disclosures, and to " suspend 
any farther judgment on its merits until the circumstances shall have been made 
known to his majesty's government." That government was called upon for an ex- 
planation, early in May, by Lord Holland, who gave notice* that he should 

^^ ' make a motion to call for the correspondence in relation to the intrigue. 
Ministers were alarmed, and their guilt was apparent in their efforts to suppress in- 
quiry. Every pretext was brought to bear to oppose the motion. When they could 
no longer deny the facts, they endeavored to throw the obloquy of the act upon the 
dead Sir James Craig. The ministerial party in the House of Lords, when the mo- 
tion was made, prevailed, and, by a vote of seventy-three against twenty-seven, re- 
fused to have the correspondence produced. Lord Holland declared in his closing 
speech that, until such investigation should be had, the fact that Great Britain had 
entered into a dishonorable and atrocious intrigue against a friendly power would 
stand unrefuted. And it does stand unrefuted to this day. It was so j)alpable, that 
Madison, in his war message on the 1st of June, made this intrigue one of the serious 
charges against Great Britain as justifying war. 

The President, as we have observed, sent a confidential message to Congress on 
the 1st of April, recommending the laying of an embargo for sixty days. It was 
avowedly a precursor of war ; and Mr. Calhoun immediately presented a bill in Com- 

^ They called up lii formidable array the proceedings of the New England people against the Embargo Laws during 
the past two or three years, and in an especial manner they arraigned Mr. Quincy, the great opposition leader of the 
House, who, a year before (January 14, ISll), in the debate on the bill to enable the people of the Territory of Orleans to 
form a State Constitution preparatory to their admission into the Union, had declared that the passage of the bill would 
"justify a revolution in this country." "Look," they said, "to the signification of this passage in Mr. Qnincy's speech 
—a passage which, when called to order, he reduced to writing : " I am compelled to declare it as my deliberate opinion 
that, if this bill passes, the bonds of the Union are virtually dissolved ; that the states which compose it are free from 
their moral obligations, and that, as it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some to prepare definitely for a 
separation, amicably if they can, violently if they must." Eor an abstract of Mr. Quincy's speech on that occasion, see 
Benton's Abrid^imit of the Debates in Congress, iv., 32T. ' 

The Senate, by resolution, asked for the names of persons in Boston or elsewhere who were concerned in the plot 
with Henry. By Secretary Monroe's reply, it seems that the spy never mentioned the name of any individual. 

" John Henry was a native of Ireland. He appeared in Philadelphia about the year 1793 or 1794, having come over as 
a steerage passenger. He possessed considerable literary ability, and became editor of Brown's PhUadelpMu Gazette. 
He afterward kept a grocery, and married in that city. Having become naturalized, and obtained a commission in the 
army iu the time of the expected war with France, he had command of an artillery corps under General Ebenezer 
Stevens, of New York, and was superior officer at Port Jay, on Governor's Island, for more than a year. He afterward 
had a command at Newport, where he quitted the service, settled iipon a farm in Northern Vermont, studied law, and 
after five years entered upon the service recorded in the text. " He was a handsome, well-behaved man," says Sulli- 
van, " and was received iu some respectable families in Boston." 



OF THE WAR OF 1812. 



223 

Efforts to alarm the People. War predicted. The Sine of France. Embar go Act passed. 

mittee of the Whole in accordance with the recommendation, i The opposition sound- 
ed an alarm. The weakness of the country, and its utter want of preparation for war, 
became the themes of impassioned appeals to the fears of the people. The continued 
aggressions of, France— equal, they said, to those of England^— were pointed to as 
causes for war with that nation, and it might he necessary to encounter both at the 
same time. 

-yCo these alarmists Clay vehemently responded. He charged them with having 
cm obstacles in the way of preparation, and now made that lack of preparation an 
excuse for longer submission to great wrongs. Weak as we are, he said, we could j 
fight France too, if necessary, in a good cause— the cause of honor and independence. ' 
He had no doubt that the late Indian war on the Wabash had been excited by the 
British ;3 and he alluded to the employment of Henry, as a spy and fomentor of dis-| 
union, as another gross offense. " We have complete proof," he said, " that England! 
would do every thing to destroy us. Resolution and spirit are our only security." 
He viewed the Embargo as a war measure, and " war we shall have in sixty days," 
he said. / i 

John Randolph implored the House to act with great caution. He said the Presi- 
dent dared not plunge the country into a war while in its present unprepared state. 
There would be no war within sixty days. He believed the spirit of the people was 
not up to war, or the provocation of an Embargo Act would not be needed. 

Other remarks were heard from both sides. The bill, by the aid of the previous 
question, was passed that evening^ by a vote of seventy against forty-one. . ^prii i, 
It was sent to the Senate the next morning. That body suspended the ^^^^- ' 
rules, took up the bill, and carried it through all the stages but the last, with an 
amendment increasing the time to ninety days. It was sent back to the House the 
next morning,* where it was concurred in, and on Saturday, the 4th of April, 
it became a law by the signature of the President. It had been violently " ^" ^' 
assailed by Quincy, when it came back from the Senate, as an attempt to escape war, 
not as a preliminary to it. It was absurd to think of creating a sufficient army and 
navy in ninety days to commence war. He coincided with Randolph in the belief 
that the Embargo was only intended to aid Bonaparte, by stopping the shipment of 

' When the Embargo project was first suggested in the Committee on Foreign Belations, it was proposed to discuss 
it under a pledge of secrecy. John Bandolph refused to be bound by any such pledge, denying the committee's author- 
ity to impose it. Mr. Calhoun, with frank generosity, on the ground that all should have an equal chance, communi- 
cated to Mr. Quincy the fact that an embargo was to be laid the day before the committee's report to that eflFect was made. 
Quincy, Lloyd, and Emott immediately sent expresses with the information to Philadelphia, New York, and JBoston. 
Emott's message appeared in the New York Evening Post on the 31st of March, the day before the President's message 
was sent in. In consequence of this information, several vessels at these respective ports loaded and escaped to sea 
before the Embargo was laid. 

2 These assertions contained much truth. According to a report laid before Congress on the 6th of July, 1812, it ap- 
peared that the whole number of British seizures and captures of American vessels since the commencement of the 
Continental War was 91T. Of these, 528 had occurred previously to the orders in Council of November, 180T, and 389 
afterward. The French seizures and captures were 658 ; of these, 206 were before the Berlin and Milan decrees, 317 after- 
ward, and 45 since their alleged repeal. Eecent Danish captures amounted to TO, and Neapolitan to 47. Besides these 
there had been extensive Dutch and Spanish seizures, which, it was alleged, should properly be placed to the French 
account, as those countries were under the control of Napoleon. It was also stated that more than half the captures by 
British cruisers had been declared invalid, and restoration ordered, while in France only a quarter of the vessels seized 
were so treated. It must be confessed that France was guilty of direct and indirect spoliation of American commerce 
to an extent equal, if oot exceeding that inflicted by Great Britain. 

3 On the nth of June the Secretary of War laid before Congress numerous letters from militaiy and civil officers of 
the government from various portions of the Northwe